Okay, let's see. Americans are not supposed to import prescription drugs from Canada, but to buy them in the US instead from phamaceutical companies with enormously inflated prices, thanks to their advertising and marketing expenses. Only the US and New Zealand permit drug companies to advertise direct to consumers. We are bombarded with coy, basically stupid ads for Levitra and Viagra, and now we can go to the movies and have to sit through ads for drugs.
But we have outsourced the manufacture of much of our flu vaccine to a company in England whose supply is so contaminated that it had been shut off. There is not even enough vaccine to protect those most at risk--small children, pregnant women, medical workers, people with respiratory troubles, and persons over 65. Anyone not falling within one of these categories is expected simply to take his or her chances.
30,000 + people die of flu every year. The number is bound to soar this time. This is a governmental failure of stunning proportions. From Anthony Fauci on up and on down, investigation is crucial and if necessary heads should roll.
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there are only two major facilities in the world that make these vaccines. The one in Liverpool is actually owned by an American company called Chiron Corporation, so "outsourcing" may not be applicable here. the other facility is owned by Aventis, a French company.
this is not the first time there has been a flu vaccine shortage, but you'd think safeguards would be in place at this point to prevent another shortage from occurring. unfortunately i doubt heads will roll as a result of this episode.
Yes, I was wrong. Chiron (US) bought the firm in Liverpool that was supposed to make its vaccine this year for US clients--but it did outsource manufacture. The Department of Health and Human Services needs a thorough overhaul. Thanks to its inability to prevent serious problems like this taking place, thousands of people will die who might have lived with the vaccine. Russ?
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not to belabor the point, but i get the impression that these two facilities are the only ones that can manufacture the required volume of vaccines. if there were a facility in the US that had lost the contract to the Liverpool plant, then i'd say it was outsourcing. if you can only get the quantities from two overseas facilities (one of which is now owned by a US company), is that really outsourcing or just a function of a cornered market?
i'd think this is a fairly lucrative market and other US companies would be eager to break into it if they could. However, the capital expenditures to get a facility on-line is probably the limiting factor.
Pretty scary, nonetheless. Last year saw record deaths resulting from the flu. This year we were supposedly going to be well stocked for the coming season, but it appears that we are right back in the same position. I'm not too worried about my family, as we are all pretty healthy, but it really struck me hard last year when that 5 year old boy died in Colorado. Made me realize how false my sense of security was.
Originally posted by hard_rox: not to belabor the point, but i get the impression that these two facilities are the only ones that can manufacture the required volume of vaccines. if there were a facility in the US that had lost the contract to the Liverpool plant, then i'd say it was outsourcing. if you can only get the quantities from two overseas facilities (one of which is now owned by a US company), is that really outsourcing or just a function of a cornered market?
i'd think this is a fairly lucrative market and other US companies would be eager to break into it if they could. However, the capital expenditures to get a facility on-line is probably the limiting factor.
In the article you linked to us to above, it stated that Wyeth recently got out of making the injection flu vaccine because there's not much profit in it. So, it's apparently not as lucrative as one would think. Hence, the reason why there are so few places in the world that manufacture it. The article also stated that the facility in Liverpool is only one of two worldwide that is approved by the FDA. I wonder how many 'other' facilities there are that the FDA won't approve and what their reasons are for that disapproval. A few thousand more deaths this year and perhaps someone will open an inquiry into the situation. Then, again, probably not.....
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Originally posted by Jean-Paul: I'm not too worried about my family, as we are all pretty healthy, but it really struck me hard last year when that 5 year old boy died in Colorado. Made me realize how false my sense of security was.
when i took my daughter to the doctors last week for her 18-month check-up, the doctor mentioned that this year there is a new national advisory for all children under the age of X (4-5 yo, i think) should have the flu vaccine. it's a two step process for kids, with 3 weeks between shots. personally i don't think we'll get them, even if they're available. however, when you mentioned that 5 yo Colo. boy, i did pause for thought.
Quote:
Originally posted by Bond007: In the article you linked to us to above, it stated that Wyeth recently got out of making the injection flu vaccine because there's not much profit in it. So, it's apparently not as lucrative as one would think.
admittedly i only skimmed the bottom third of the article this morning and i missed the sentence that mentioned that vaccines aren't profitable to drug companies. evidently Wyeth is putting its stock into nasal spray vaccine research, which is probably the next "big thing" in that arena. as you mentioned, it would be interesting to see how many facilities have applied to the FDA for approval for manufacturing the injection vaccines and were denied.
A news item in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer--the usual price for a 10-dose vial of flu vaccine is $68. Some scalpers are now asking over $250. Not surprising, in the current spiritual climate of an increasingly "doggy-dog" world in the US.
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Originally posted by gardener: Not surprising, in the current spiritual climate of an increasingly "doggy-dog" world in the US.
You gotta wonder if it's some sort of karmic payback for our bombing Africa's largest penicillin and aspirin factory in Sudan back in the '90s. Never found any evidence of any wrongdoing, and we never apologized or helped them rebuild. But it diverted attention for a few weeks from Clinton dropping his pants for an intern. Which makes one wonder, how many Africans died for that blowjob?
News Analysis: Shortage Was Predicted (October 7, 2004)
NYTimes
To the Editor:
It is astonishing that the United States has achieved such a severe influenza vaccine shortage, because of a last-minute single-point manufacturing failure that has now cut the vaccine supply in half, just as we enter influenza season ("Shortage Was Predicted," news analysis, Oct. 7).
We generously supply billions of dollars of agricultural subsidies and price supports to farmers and agribusinesses, without much sensible justification. Instead, we must create price supports, minimum purchase contracts or other government mechanisms so as to ensure vaccine supply from multiple influenza vaccine manufacturers - I suggest at least five - in order to prevent this kind of shortfall in future years.
This is one area where the free market cannot be relied upon to meet societal needs. Tens of thousands of lives are at risk.
Philip K. Lane, M.D.
Berkeley, Calif., Oct. 7, 2004
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"It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in an argument." William Gibbs McAdoo. US Vice-President under Woodrow Wilson.
I work at a local hospital and we got our full shipment of vaccine, I how ever don't take them because I always get the flu which turns into pneumonia(SP?) within a week of getting the shot. The medical staff says it's impossible to get sick from the shot, But I had never had the flu before I started taking vaccine. At first I thought it was coincidence, so for three years I got the shot and for three years I got sick. I haven't gotten the shot for two years now and I haven't ever had a head cold.
As for the 5 year old who died in Canyon City, he was my aunt's neighbor and it hit really close to home. The Colorado Department of Health recently released a warning to the effect that only high risk groups (health care workers, elderly, pregnant women, anyone suffering from cronic illness, and childeren between 6 and 26 months old) should get the shot.
Now I am not trying to discourage anyone with my experience, but I think that if you are healthy and in shape (hopefully everybody on this board) the flu shouldn't really be a concern.
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Originally posted by BigGrayShirt: I work at a local hospital and we got our full shipment of vaccine, I how ever don't take them because I always get the flu which turns into pneumonia(SP?) within a week of getting the shot. The medical staff says it's impossible to get sick from the shot, But I had never had the flu before I started taking vaccine. At first I thought it was coincidence, so for three years I got the shot and for three years I got sick. I haven't gotten the shot for two years now and I haven't ever had a head cold.
You can get the flu from the shot. No. You cannot get the flu from the shot. The shot contains only an inactivated (killed) form of the virus and therefore cannot cause influenza.
In all likelihood, your experience represents a coincidence. Or, perhaps, there is another good explanation, such as you were exposed to one of the strains not covered by the vaccine. Just something to think about.
It gets worse and worse. Here's a press release from HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson. Price-gougers or flu vaccine ought no doubt to be punished, but it's Thompson himself, a political appointment of the Bush administration, who ought to be fired. Only 3 weeks ago he was encouraging EVERYBODY in the US to get flu shot s and telling us all what a great job HHS and the FDA had done in working with the manufacturers (2!) to assure vaccine supply. Now he screams about price-gougers, with not a word of apology about his own dereliction of duty.
And many the high risk people are not getting their shots either. I got mine Saturday after a 4 hour wait. Today I went as company with my wife to stand in the cold rain outside a grocery store. After an hour and a half, we were toldto go home, there were only 200 doses. My wife was in the high 200s. My next door neighbor, # 231, came home. But he just told us...he left his umbrella, went back to get it, and learned that there were really 300. But by the time he got back, they were gone.
Maybe some people don't see this as a political issue. I do. For the past four years we've watched the administration play footsie with the drug industry, watched as the price of drugs has escalated. I am one of the fortunate ones with benefits that provide expensive medications at reasonable prices. But good fortune is rarer and rarer, and many people are getting screwed.
And people are going to die because of this fiasco. That's die, as in dying prematurely because public officials were asleep at the switch. (Go see "Death in Venice.")
HHS Secretary Urges States to Aggressively Prosecute Flu Vaccine Price Gouging
Thursday October 14, 4:29 pm ET
WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson sent a letter to the Attorney General of each state today urging them to thoroughly investigate reports of price gouging involving the flu vaccine and to prosecute those found to be taking advantage of the vaccine shortage.
"It is extremely disturbing to learn of reports of price gouging by immoral individuals looking to make a quick buck off of a public health challenge," Secretary Thompson wrote in the letter. "I am encouraging the attorney general of each state to thoroughly investigate reports of price gouging and prosecute those engaging in this immoral and illegal activity to the full extent of the law."
Secretary Thompson said it will take the good faith and cooperation of all Americans -- the public, doctors, nurses and public health professionals -- to ensure that the flu vaccine goes to those who truly need it most this flu season. Information on who is recommended to get the flu vaccine is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/whoshouldget.htm.
In the letter, Secretary Thompson said the CDC is collecting reports on price gouging and sharing the information with the National Association of Attorneys General and state prosecutors.
The full text of the letter is as follows:
October 14, 2004
Dear Attorney General:
The disappointing loss of half of our nation's flu vaccine due to manufacturing issues in England poses a serious challenge to our vaccine supply for the upcoming flu season. Chiron was to produce between 46-48 million doses for America, and we are calling on all Americans to work together to ensure the vaccine gets to those who need it most.
A vast majority of Americans are working to meet this test, but it is extremely disturbing to learn of reports of price gouging by immoral individuals looking to make a quick buck off of a public health challenge.
I am encouraging the attorney general of each state to thoroughly investigate reports of price gouging and prosecute those engaging in this immoral and illegal activity to the full extent of the law. The Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is collecting reports on price gouging and sharing it with the National Association of Attorneys General and state prosecutors.
We have faced vaccine shortages in the past, most recently in 2000-2001. We have worked through them successfully. And we need to come together to work through this challenge as well. Let's all work together to make sure those who really need the vaccine get it this flu season.
Sincerely,
Tommy G. Thompson
Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.
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Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
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i am a school teacher (in an elementary school) and I usually get the shot. I prolly won't be able to get it this year, so I'm looking for ways I can prevent getting sick. I bought the germ-x hand sanitizer, but I'm not sure how effective it will be. you got any other ideas?
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