Government 'ignored Tamiflu advice'

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The government rejected advice from an independent panel which recommended that most people with swine flu symptoms take paracetamol rather than Tamiflu.

The panel, set up by the Department of Health, said that mass prescriptions of Tamiflu would help the virus to develop resistance, according to the Guardian.

It reported that ministers ignored this advice, fearing that a "public backlash" if anti-viral drugs were withheld.

Professor Robert Dingwall of the Committee on Ethical Aspects of Pandemic Influenza, explained: "Some people [on the panel] wanted to take a long term view of the risk of resistance developing and to seek to preserve the effectiveness of anti-virals for the next pandemic, which may be more severe.

"It was felt... it would simply be unacceptable to the UK population to tell them we had a huge stockpile of drugs but they were not going to be made available."

Dingwall continued: "There were discussions within the Health Protection Authority and the Department of Health, once it became clear that swine flu was a relatively mild infection, about whether to reserve anti-virals for high-risk groups and to advise the general population to treat themselves with paracetamol or ibuprofen."

But the Department of Health responded that a "safety-first" approach was required.

In a statement, the department said: "Protecting the public is the prime concern of our strategy, which has been shaped by advice from the most eminent specialists from the beginning.

"There is still doubt about how swine flu affects people – a safety-first approach is the best approach. This means offering anti-virals when required.

"However, we will keep this policy under review as we learn more about the virus and its effects. This is in line with the views of both the Committee on Ethical Aspects of Pandemic Influenza and of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies."

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