Ministers first in queue for flu pills

Cabinet ministers and their advisers are among those who would get priority access to the Government's stockpile of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu in the event of a bird flu pandemic.

The existence of a draft list detailing who would get the drug was revealed yesterday by National Party health spokesman Tony Ryall.

Besides ministers, security and intelligence advisers also get priority access.

After Mr Ryall released the document, the Ministry of Health said no final policy decisions had been made on Tamiflu, but it had been consulting key groups for the past two months.

The Director of Public Health, Mark Jacobs, said current thinking was to use Tamiflu to "ringfence" an influenza outbreak, and the document proposes that 10 per cent of the 850,000 courses of Tamiflu the Government has stockpiled be held back for people in essential services.

"There are some services that need to be maintained at the highest practical level to help provide direct pandemic responses - services that reduce the impacts of a pandemic on the general population and emergency services," said Dr Jacobs.

The list was the first version, he said, and it was likely there would be several further versions as advice was taken.

The H5N1 virus cannot yet spread easily between people but the World Health Organisation fears it will mutate into a new pandemic strain that could kill 2 million to 7.4 million people worldwide.

In New Zealand it could infect about 1.6 million people - 40 per cent of the population - and kill 33,000 in an eight-week period.

The Government's influenza pandemic plan, released last week, urged district health boards to store their own supplies of Tamiflu in addition to the Government's stockpile, which is enough for about a fifth of the population to have one course.

People can also buy the drug themselves from pharmacists for about $75 if a doctor will prescribe it, but panic buying means there is a wait of up to three months while new stocks are imported.

Mr Ryall said the public had a right to know who was on the list, and releasing it meant businesses and emergency services could plan in light of the information.

In Parliament yesterday, Health Minister Pete Hodgson said that to the best of his knowledge there was no such draft list, and if there was it would be unlikely to be of any value.

"One cannot have a useful response to who should get Tamiflu until the nature of the virus and the sections of the community it is likely to affect are known, and that is not possible until there is a bug to respond to."

Mr Ryall said Mr Hodgson's lack of knowledge of the list was a "dereliction of duty".

"It is quite frightening that the one public servant who should be on top of this stuff is completely unaware it is happening."

Ministry of Health officials will today brief Parliament's health select committee on the possible pandemic.

Top of the list

* 50 Cabinet ministers and key advisers

* 60,000 health workers (nurses, doctors, radiographers, physiotherapists, orderlies, laundry staff, ambulance, rest-home staff)

* 8000 police

* 9000 defence personnel

* 1000 border control staff

* 6000 social workers and prison staff

* 1500 'key infrastructure staff'