THIS IS NOT a mistake by the journalist who wrote it. It's exactly like this how the Spanish government is misinforming the public about avian flu preparedness:

Spain is to buy between six and ten million more doses of avian flu vaccine, enough to protect up to 25 percent of the population.

As the threat of an avian flu pandemic increased with new cases in Romania, Turkey and Greece in recent days, the government moved to increase the amount of vaccine at its disposal.

Before it only had two million doses or enough to treat five percent of the population - those who were deemed most at risk.

The government also announced it is to set up an inter-ministerial commission to monitor the progress of avian flu as it spreads across Spain.

Manuel Oñorbe, Spanish director general of public health, said: "The efficiency of the vaccine is not a panacea against this type of flu."

You bet it's not a panacea. That's because anti-virals like Tamiflu, which is what the Spanish government is buying, are not vaccines; and it may even be useless against some strains that seem to be resistant to the drug.

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