More on flu vaccine
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| Sat, 10-16-2004 - 6:45pm |
Beyond the newspapers, there is talk that the Bush administration has finally admitted that the Chiron supply will not arrive. This raises questions as to how long it has been since this information was known, and why alternatives were not sought sooner to quiet panic amongst seniors. There is also news that Bush is requesting help from China for vaccines supply. Nonetheless, there is a remarkable lack of leadership on this issue from Bush. While the President chortles about "the uther lib'ral senator from Massachusetts," seniors are worried that the next flu epidemic will take their lives.
This story is hitting home for many of us. My grandmother was worried sick that she would not get a shot. Finally, after waiting in line for three hours she got one. What I learned from her was how much this flu shot has been pushed in recent years as a way for seniors to manage their health.
Reading through Chiron's testimony to the public several years back, I learned that one of the conditions of their being willing to enter into the not-so-lucrative flu vaccine market was a good faith promise from the government to "educate" the public on the importance of getting a flu vaccine. And this education has worked, resulting in the fact that many seniors now firmly believe that the flu vaccine is a critical element to their surviving the season. This is a new phenomenon and one that was highly pushed during the Bush administration. Why wasn't this promotion of the flu vaccine coupled with the implementation of more backup suppliers and an emergency plan for a problem like this one? Why did this administration rely so much on supply from one factory in one company--given that that same company had explicitly requested that the US government promote vaccination to help insure that vaccine production would be financially viable? Why didn't the Bush administration draft a plan to help our seniors? And why doesn't the Bush administration consider that some day we might need our allies to chip in and help us resolve an unexpected crisis?
Maybe God, in the midst of telling George Bush to invade Iraq, forgot to mention that it might also be a good idea to look after the health of our grandparents.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2004/10/15/670817-cp.html
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6249846/
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Hillary's Vaccine Shortage
Daily Policy Digest
Everyone knows America's vaccine industry is in serious trouble, with an ever dwindling number of producers and recent severe vaccine shortages. What everyone also should know is that the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine has now pinned much of the blame on the government vaccine-buying program promoted by former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The panel of doctors and economists issuing a report on vaccines last week identified as a fundamental cause of the problem the fact that the government purchases 55 percent of the childhood vaccine market at forced discount prices. The result has been "declining financial incentives to develop and produce vaccines."
The root of this government role goes back to August 1993, when Congress passed Clinton's Vaccines for Children program. The plan, promoted by the Children's Defense Fund, was to use federal power to ensure universal immunization. So the government agreed to purchase a third of the national vaccine supply (the President and Mrs. Clinton had pushed for 100 percent) at a forced discount of half price, then distribute it to doctors to deliver to the poor and the un- and under-insured. As a result:
Where 30 years ago, 25 companies produced vaccines for the U.S. market.,
today only five remain, and there is only one producer for a number of critical shots.
Recent years have brought shortages of numerous vaccines, including those for whooping cough, diphtheria and chicken pox.
The Institute panel in effect said that one of Senator Clinton's pet projects is a bust. As Congress considers Medicare legislation that could do similar harm to prescription drug makers, the vaccine tale is a timely alarm, says the Journal.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS
http://www.ncpa.org/iss/hea/2003/pd081803e.html
Source: Editorial, "Hillary's Vaccine Shortage," Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2003; based on Committee on the Evaluation of Vaccine Purchase Financing in the United States, "Financing Vaccines in the 21st Century: Assuring Access and Availability," Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, August 4, 2003.
Perhaps some of the vaccine production could be financed by the federal government and produced here instead of outsourcing and purchasing from other countries. I have many issues with that, the first being that the United States has extremely high standards set for drug companies to adhere to in the research and production of drugs. I realize that they screw up, but for the most part they have the most stringent standards in the world. That is why drugs are so expensive and take so long to get approval here.
I hesitate to put the whole blame for this thing on Hillary Clinton, making her the scapegoat for a truly messed up healthcare system. Like many other industries, there