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Flu shot shortage shows the need to reform [Ellen Goodman -- barf alert]
Quad-City Times ^ | Sunday, November 14th, 2004 | Ellen Goodman

Posted on 11/15/2004 11:08:06 AM PST by newgeezer

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To: hushpad
In 2003, they were throwing the stuff away because so much was left over (sorry, heard on radio dr. show, so no source)

That's true, in 2003 there was more supply than demand and 3-4 million doses were discarded -- but there was also nearly twice as much supply in 2003 compared to this year.

21 posted on 11/15/2004 12:14:58 PM PST by cogitator
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To: newgeezer
The strain of flu that is coming our way has been dubbed by one reporter as the Free Market Flu. The entire debacle comes from the fact that preventing the flu isn’t as profitable as, say, treating erectile dysfunction. The major American drug companies, who continuously tell us that their profits are for our benefit, don’t do flu vaccines anymore.

That's essentially correct. However, an article in the Washington Post a couple of weeks ago indicated that many drug companies will get back in when new gene technology makes the egg-based production method obsolete -- and that might happen in only 4-5 years.

22 posted on 11/15/2004 12:16:50 PM PST by cogitator
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To: cogitator

but there was also nearly twice as much supply in 2003 compared to this year.<<<

That is my point. Last year, as in most years, the flu shot was OVER-SUPPLIED.

In 2004, we probably got exactly as much as we would have used without the "shortage". If all the vaccine would have been viable, we probably would have thrown out at least 1/2 of it again.


23 posted on 11/15/2004 12:28:56 PM PST by hushpad
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To: newgeezer

Hey Ellen, you moroness: stay out of dr's offices where the sick congregate, wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap frequently, and stop picking your nose. You'll survive, bimbo.


24 posted on 11/15/2004 12:30:34 PM PST by 7.62 x 51mm (• veni • vidi • vino • visa • "I came, I saw, I drank wine, I shopped")
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To: 7.62 x 51mm

I've seen the Canadian system, and I think this is a foretaste of a government run system. Politicians pay attention to whatever is sexy at the moment and don't like oversight much. So, they don't keep up with things. Surely, in this time when we are finding we must beef up our national security and intelligence we don't need to give those old farts in the Senate more authority over something they know nothing about. They have more than enough to do.


25 posted on 11/15/2004 1:13:10 PM PST by ClaireSolt (.)
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To: saveliberty
You nailed it.

Pray for Tort Reform. The lawyers radio Ads were on the air the day after the Vioxx announcement, soliciting clients. What reason does an American child have to go train for a decade to go into Medicine or research when all you have worked for can be taken away in a pinch.


A cap on P & S awards would be a great start.
26 posted on 11/15/2004 1:23:22 PM PST by HonestConservative (Put a live pig on every plane!)
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To: camle

Exactly!


27 posted on 11/15/2004 1:26:32 PM PST by HonestConservative (Put a live pig on every plane!)
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To: 7.62 x 51mm

LOL! I am still laughing!


28 posted on 11/15/2004 1:52:06 PM PST by saveliberty (Liberal= in need of therapy, but would rather ruin lives of those less fortunate to feel good)
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To: HonestConservative

Hey not only that, but how about suing attorneys for undermining a business??? Let the doctors get their malpractice insurance money back from the attorneys, juries and the judges.


29 posted on 11/15/2004 1:53:25 PM PST by saveliberty (Liberal= in need of therapy, but would rather ruin lives of those less fortunate to feel good)
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To: saveliberty

Me too, sl! LOL!


30 posted on 11/15/2004 4:03:44 PM PST by 7.62 x 51mm (• veni • vidi • vino • visa • "I came, I saw, I drank wine, I shopped")
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To: newgeezer
Flu shot shortage shows the need to reform

Of course, she can't be bothered to lay the blame for this flu shot shortage where it belongs, right at the feet of Clinton and the Democrats who make it totally unprofitable for American flu shot manufacturers to continue to make it here so it left America vulnerable to shortages.

31 posted on 11/15/2004 4:49:48 PM PST by Tamar1973 (Bush received 51% of the popular vote, more than Bill Clinton ever did. SO THERE!)
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To: newgeezer

Who needs the flu when you have Ellen Goodman to induce vomiting?


32 posted on 11/15/2004 7:17:14 PM PST by RightWingAtheist (Krugman? More like Kool-Aid Man)
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