Disagreements between the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Ministry of Finance have flared anew, this time over vaccines for swine flu. Sources inform ''Globes'' that Netanyahu's decision yesterday to buy vaccines for the entire population at a cost of NIS 450 million was taken against the position of the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry of Finance supports buying the vaccine, but only for specific groups at risk, such as pregnant women.
The cost of buying swine flu vaccine for the whole population equals the budget supplement that Deputy Minister of Health Yaacov Litzman was able to obtain for the basket of healthcare services. He is therefore not expected to agree to spend the supplement only on swine flu vaccines. Most of the money will therefore have to come from the Ministry of Finance.
Ministry of Finance officials also say that the decision to buy the vaccines, which are still only under development and not yet even on the market, was made hastily, without thorough discussion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 30, 2009
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