VZCZCXRO9493
OO RUEHIK
DE RUEHBM #0742 3090444
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 050444Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0037
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS BUCHAREST 000742 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EUR A/S GORDON AND EUR/CE ASCHEIBE 
ALSO FOR OES/IHB SBOGGESS, RSORENSON, AND CSHAPIRO 
HHS FOR DMILLER, JMARINISSEN, AND BGELLIN 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EINV TBIO PGOV SOCI AMED RO
SUBJECT: ROMANIA: REQUEST FOR H1N1 VACCINE ASSISTANCE 
 
REF: A) STATE 111924 B) BUCHAREST 673 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified; not for Internet distribution. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) This is an urgent action request; please see paragraph 5. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Ambassador was contacted on November 4 by Anca 
Ilinoiu, Senior Foreign Policy adviser to President Traian Basescu, 
with a "personal request from the President to President Obama" that 
the United States agree to provide Romania with one million doses of 
approved H1N1 vaccine, in exchange for which Romania proposes to 
deliver an equivalent number of Romanian-produced doses when the 
domestically produced vaccine receives final approval, probably by 
the end of November.  Ilinoiu explained that H1N1 has become a major 
public health concern in the last few days, with a spike in reported 
cases (up to 555 confirmed as of November 3, with the real number 
suspected to be higher, though no fatalities to date).  Romania is 
also closely monitoring the situation in neighboring Ukraine and 
Moldova, with a high infection rate and several dozen H1N1-related 
deaths in western Ukraine of particular concern to Romanian health 
authorities, Ilinoiu said. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) This request comes against the backdrop of sensationalist 
news headlines and growing unease in Romania over H1N1.  Romanian 
confidence in the decrepit public health system is very low, and the 
quick uptick in cases has come in concert with public finger 
pointing among presidential candidates over H1N1 preparations, 
particularly with the Ministry of Health under caretaker supervision 
by the Minister of Economy.  Romania's government-run Cantacuzino 
Institute is already manufacturing a vaccine, but the Government has 
been caught flat-footed with at least one million vaccine doses on 
hand but no final regulatory approval to allow distribution.  Plans 
by the Ministry of Health to attempt commercial purchases of already 
approved H1N1 vaccine were halted once it became clear that no 
outside vaccine would be available for purchase until sometime in 
¶2010. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Post understands from Ref A that Romania is not on a 
priority list of countries to receive donated vaccine doses from the 
WHO.  However, in this case, Romania is requesting a one-for-one 
swap, not donated stocks.  The Cantacuzino National Infectious 
Disease Research Institute, which is producing the Romanian version 
of H1N1 vaccine, has a long history of fruitful cooperation with the 
U.S. and European Centers for Disease Control, and the vaccine they 
are manufacturing will likely receive regulatory approval in the 
coming weeks. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Action Request:  Post requests guidance from Washington 
agencies on how to respond to this urgent request from the Romanian 
President.  If some kind of swap of vaccines is feasible -- 
including a possibility that Romania could contribute vaccines to 
the WHO effort to supplement U.S. contributions, especially if we 
can urge Ukraine to take advantage of the fact that they are on the 
list of countries eligible for WHO assistance for vaccines -- post 
requests Washington's advice on how the Romanians might conclude 
such an arrangement. 
 
GITENSTEIN