Vaccine agreement reached

THE racing industry has forged a crucial agreement with the federal and state governments to continue the equine influenza vaccination program until the end of June.

Approval to continue the vaccination program was finally granted despite some resistance from bureaucrats looking to cut costs.
NSW was declared "EI-free" last week although it was deemed necessary to continue the vaccination program to ensure there was no possibility of another outbreak.
Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'Landys said the agreement to continue the EI vaccination program until at least June 30 was a relief for all concerned in the racing industry.
"We can't be 100 per cent certain that EI has been eradicated," he admitted. "There could be some horses in outback Queensland or some remote part of NSW with EI but we just don't know. It is impossible to test everywhere. This is why it is so important we got governments to agree to continue to vaccinate."
V'Landys conceded the NSW racing industry would still be shut down if approval wasn't granted initially to vaccinate against EI.
"The disease was spreading like wildfire, there seemed to be no stopping it," he said.
"The racing industry owes a debt to (trainer) John O'Shea for agitating so forcefully for vaccinations."
V'Landys said the racing industry would continue to lobby governments to approve an annual EI vaccination program.