GPs in England are to be paid £5.25 (€5.90; $8.70) for every dose of swine flu vaccine they administer, once it is licensed, under a deal agreed between the BMA and the Department of Health.

In total, GPs stand to earn an extra £47m between them, or about £1424 each, if they vaccinate all the nine million people in England identified as being at risk.

The health secretary, Andy Burnham, said, “This deal represents good value for money, as the vaccine programme will reduce the number of people who will need hospital treatment.”

There is still no indication of when the vaccine will become available or whether …