The Polish government will not yet buy swine flu vaccinations because they have not been fully researched, says Health Minister Ewa Kopacz.

“When there will be full documentation, we will provide vaccinations,” stated the Minister Monday afternoon to press during a break of the pandemic committee meeting on swine flu. “As far as the amount of people to be vaccinated and from which firm, negotiations are currently underway. As deliveries are made, prices will be set.”

The committee has not yet decided to purchase large quantities of the vaccine, but Kopacz assured media that “there is no reason to worry.”

“The job of every government is to assure the health and safety of every citizen and recommend safe and effective medicine. Today, with the level of knowledge available, none of the companies we are negotiation with are able to tell us what is more important or what the side effects of the vaccine are,” stated Kopacz, adding that, currently, seasonal flu is equally if not more dangerous that the A/H1N1 strain of flu.

Only 185 cases of swine flu, the A/H1N1 virus, have been confirmed in Poland.

“Last year, in the second half of October alone, we recorded 7,700 cases of seasonal flu. Since the beginning of May this year, we have recorded about 190 cases of A/H1N1. Such proportions show that we should really be concerned about seasonal flu,” stated Jan Orgelbrand, head of Poland's Main Sanitary Inspectorate. (mmj)