Stockpiling Tamiflu cost government thousands

Fri, 11 Apr 2014

Stockpiling the Tamiflu drug on the Isle of Man has cost government £200,000 of dead money.

Pharmaceuticals company Roche provided the Island with the antidote to a swine flu pandemic.

The news comes as an Oxford University study found the drug did nothing to halt the spread of influenza – meaning the UK has wasted £500m on it.

240,000 people in the UK were given the drug and it was found to worsen symptoms, rather than easing them.

Director of public health Dr Kishore says it isn’t particularly useful: