Opinion

Don't let safety fall by the wayside in the rush to find a vaccine

By Peter Drahos
September 5 2020 - 4:30am
The oseltamivir fiasco of H5N1 shows what happens if companies and patents are allowed to prevail over public health. Picture: Shutterstock
The oseltamivir fiasco of H5N1 shows what happens if companies and patents are allowed to prevail over public health. Picture: Shutterstock

In 2003, the World Health Organization believed that H5N1, a strain of avian influenza virus, was a pandemic in waiting. There was no vaccine, but the WHO recommended the stockpiling and use of oseltamivir - sold under the brand name Tamiflu - as a treatment.

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