Health official charged in flu vaccine buy/ UPI
SOFIA, Bulgaria, April 2 (UPI) — Bulgarian Health Minister Bozhidar Nanev resigned after being charged with corruption in the purchase of unnecessary H1N1 flu vaccine doses.
Nanev, 57, was charged with overspending on 200,000 doses of vaccine from the highest bidder weeks after a flu epidemic had ended, The Sofia Echo reported.
Prosecutors allege Nanev signed a deal with Swiss drug maker Roche in December that cost more than $1.6 million more than a lower bid received 20 days earlier from Britain’s National Health Service.
Nanev denied the charge and was free on bail, the EU Observer said.
The vaccine is in storage and has a 2014 expiration date, the Echo said.
Nanev, 57, was charged with overspending on 200,000 doses of vaccine from the highest bidder weeks after a flu epidemic had ended, The Sofia Echo reported.
Prosecutors allege Nanev signed a deal with Swiss drug maker Roche in December that cost more than $1.6 million more than a lower bid received 20 days earlier from Britain’s National Health Service.
Nanev denied the charge and was free on bail, the EU Observer said.
The vaccine is in storage and has a 2014 expiration date, the Echo said.