US probes flu jab 'price scams'

The US has lost almost half its annual supply of vaccine

US Health Secretary Tommy Thompson has urged local officials to investigate reports of companies raising prices to exploit a flu vaccine shortage.

The US lost nearly half its annual supply this month after the UK stopped a drug company exporting the vaccine, amid fears it could be contaminated.

US officials have been trying to arrange deliveries from other countries, such as Canada.

But they say it will be hard to get regulators to approve them by winter.

Long queues have formed at pharmacies in the US as people try to get hold of the vaccine.

'Quick buck'

Mr Thompson said he was asking the attorney generals of each US state to use the full force of the law against anyone trying to exploit the shortage.

"It is extremely disturbing to learn of reports of price gouging by immoral individuals looking to make a quick buck off a public health challenge," he said in a statement.

President Bush and his Democratic Party challenger, Senator John Kerry, were asked about the issue at the election debate on Wednesday.

Mr Kerry said the shortage was an example of the failure of Mr Bush's healthcare policies, saying he had "turned his back on the wellness of America".

Mr Bush responded by urging younger, healthy Americans not to get a flu jab this year, adding that he did not intend to either.

Last week the UK Department of Health suspended the licence of vaccine manufacturer Chiron for at least three months.

The decision followed an announcement by the company in August that millions of Fluvirin vaccines had been contaminated, although it subsequently said its products were back up to standard.

Fluvirin is the second most widely used flu vaccine in the US.