BRITS DRASTICALLY CUT FLU DEATH PREDICTION

Financial Times - Just 1 million of the 10 million doses of the swine flu vaccine distributed to immunize the general public have so far been used, indicating slow progress in fighting the current pandemic.

David Salisbury, director of immunization at the Department of Health, said yesterday he remained "hopeful" that more than 11 million people judged at high risk would be vaccinated "well before Christmas".

The low uptake appears to confirm opinion polls suggesting considerable skepticism about the benefits of vaccination, with the H1N1 flu virus less severe for most people than originally feared and an intense debate on the potential side- effects of vaccination.

The figures may stoke debate on the amount paid by the government for measures to counter the pandemic, including total orders of 90 million doses of vaccine. Revised planning assumptions have cut the likely number of deaths caused by the virus to 1,000, from as high as 65,000 mooted in July . So far 242 have died across the UK, with infections only slightly higher this week at 46,000.