Hillary's Flu Vaccine Crisis

newsmax.com ^ | 12/13/03 | Carl Limbacher

[Mich0127]

December 13, 2003 Schwarzenegger: Terminates Hillary's Plans?

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With Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff For the story behind the story...

Click Here Hillary's Flu Vaccine Crisis

Newspapers are awash this week with headlines warning that the U.S. is running out of flu vaccine, just as the crisis reaches near-epidemic levels, with 11 children dead so far.

But as top radio talker Rush Limbaugh noted this week, the press isn't explaining how the most sophisticated health care system in the world was caught short by the flu crisis.

Perhaps reporters ought to ask New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, since one of the few health care reforms she managed to inflict on the nation during her co-presidency has now backfired by driving most of America's flu vaccine producers out of business.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal this week, "The reason for today's shortage - as well as seven previous preventive vaccine shortages since 2000 - is that there are just five vaccine makers.

"This lack of suppliers is partly thanks to Hillary Clinton, who as first lady turned government into the majority buyer of vaccines and pushed prices so low as to make business unsustainable."

Last summer the Journal noted that the problem goes back to 1993, when Mrs. Clinton's "Vaccines for Children Program" was first implemented.

Hillary's vaccine crusade was being pushed by her Children's Defense Fund mentor Marian Wright Edelman - even though U.S. child vaccination rates at the time were considered relatively high by medical experts.

But that didn't stop Sen. Clinton and her "reformers." She pressured Congress to back the disastrous plan in a bid to make vaccines more available to poor, uninsured and underinsured children. In the process she turned the government into the major purchaser and distributor of vaccines.

Oops! Unfortunately for the familles of the 11 children killed by the disease so far, things didn't quite work out the way Hillary had planned.

As noted by the Kansas City Star this week, the decision to force vaccine makers to discount their price resulted in "declining financial incentives to develop and produce vaccines."

What's more, the vaccination rate "barely budged" after the Hillary-Edelman brainchild was implemented.

Hillary's "reform" did, however, manage to leave the nation thoroughly unprepared to handle the current flu crisis.

[jmstein7]

To paraphrase W.C., Democracy is the best of the worst form of government. But, human nature is the true limiting factor of societal organization, and the reason why Socialism can't work is because it runs counter to human nature. That's why John Rawls' "veil of ignorance" is the right idea with the wrong conclusion (like Dworkin).

As a matter of policy, socialism is a bad idea because it requires consolidation of power and central planning. This is "bad" bacause, when power is centralized, a single megalomaniac can easily take control of the whole system. That is the beauty of the Constitution -- as a device, it intentionally makes it difficult to get anything done, alter the status quo, or consolidate power. This is "good" because it protects us from ourselves.

Socialism assumes that men are virtuous and selfless. That is why it can never work.

[CalKat]

I've read that the reason we are short on vaccine this year is because there is such an unprecedented demand, and not enough vaccine was ordered, and therefore made. In past years, hundreds of thousands of doses of vaccine are destroyed after the expiration date, and the purchasers were trying to avoid overbuying and losing money. The makers of the vaccine could have made more, but it was not ordered. I'm not sure what Hillary Clinton has to do with this.

[Mich0127]

Absolutely, because it is human nature to strive for power, and as can be seen with sheeple like Hitlery, they will stop at nothing to get the power they so desire.

[mewzilla]

They threw away over ten million doses last year, so manufacturers cut back by approximately that amount this year. There's no conspiracy involved.

[two23]

Last Week, O'Reilly had a guest on from the Wall Street Journal and she first mentioned the shortage of vaccines due to the "socialization" of the vaccine industry back in the 90's..I held my breath for a second and sure enough....followed by "Hillary did this in 1993"...it was great.

[two23]

According to what the WSJ woman was saying; that Hillarys vaccine program made the vaccine industry NOT profitable...added to that-- lawsuits...all but 2 companies in the USA make vaccines now (where it used to be 30 companies).
No profit--no incentive?

[Mich0127]

That's great!
But we all know that none of the mainstream liberal media resources would ever say such a thing...just blame it on Bush...morons! They would never think to look to their ugly darling Hitlery or her moron pet dog Bill as the source of the problem!

[JohnBovenmyer]

I'm not sure what Hillary Clinton has to do with this.

If she'd left them a larger profit margin they wound't have to worry about the losses from unsold product as much and would have been more willing to balance that risk against the potentially significant increased profit from selling additional product.

[two23]

Yup---they have a problem with "collective denial" and a whole host of other syptoms that accompany those who sell their (socialist) souls to the devil.

[snopercod]

It won't be 24 months before the US government caps medication prices and the destruction of the pharmaceutical industry in this nation will become a reality.

Exactly. In addition, it won't be 24 months before payroll taxes on the younger generation increase to pay for the new bureaucracy. The automatic increase is built into the law Bush signed.

[Eldorado431]

As the Article reads, Hillary had the government take control of the Vaccine Companies. Okay, so Hillarycare would have gone much Further had it been Passed. Hillarycare would have given the US Government a level of control over the doctor-patient relationship that is unheard of except in Socialist Societies. The Details in Hillarycare were drafted in unlawful closed meetings were she revealed her authoritarian leftist bent, crafting a compulsory national medical program that literally would have jailed doctors who practiced medicine out-side the State controlled Structure she was designing for all 260 million of us. Bottom line, Hillary is a Communist. Thanks for my Two Cents Wort.

[randog]

The reason there is a "shortage" this year is soley because the media has wipped the masses into a panic about 11 deaths, when in fact 360000 deaths is about aveage each and every year.

I can't vouch for your 360K number, but I do agree that this "flu crisis" seems to be more of a media-created crisis than anything else. I heard some woman on the radio yesterday saying, "How can my child be dead from the flu? This is 2003, not the early 1900's". Well, as you said, lots of people do die from the flu every year, usually the young, old, and infirm (the usual suspects). People generally think of the flu as "a bad cold", but it can (and is) a deadly bug.

[petitfour]

Is there a vaccine crisis because suddenly parents are being urged to have their little ones inoculated when they have never done so in the past? I have seven children, and I have never had a physician tell us to get the flu vaccine. Never. But this year, hubby has coworkers who daily ask him if our children have had the flu vaccine yet. I have heard physicians urge the elderly to be vaccinated, and I expect that vaccine makers have a rough idea of how many elderly people there are in the country and how many may decide to be vaccinated. And then there are health care workers and other folks who have lots of face to face contact with the general public and who believe the flu vaccine will keep them healthy. I do not see this as a Clinton crisis.

[okie01]

"Its about time the republican grew up and stopped blaming every bad thing on the Clintons...the Clintons were scum, no doubt, but bush has been in office for 3 years, and the republicans have controlled both houses for over 1 year now; if they had wanted to do something about this flu vaccination "problem", they could have. What did the Clintons do, that the current congress and president could not have undone if they so desired?"

Can't help but ask, but have you ever been asked to take over a grossly mismanaged company and turn it around?

It is a time-consuming process -- even in medium-sized companies. Given the massiveness of the federal government and the unwieldiness of a political bureacracy (as opposed to a commercial enterprise) we're looking at a decade -- just to identify all the problems, much less do something about each.

And, then, a full generation to actually turn it around...

In that sense, Limbaugh, Limbacher and the WSJ are precisely correct: The vaccine shortage does trace to the early attempts to enforce "Clinton Care".

And, if anybody had seen this coming, say, two or three years ago, something might've been done about it by now.

But, for the past two years, the administration has been distracted by other concerns. Remember the War on Terror?

Your point about the media, though, is apt. The number of deaths to date is comparatively a tempest in a teapot.

[cajun-jack]

with the "straightners" we have in DC???? Art Bell will actually invent a time machine and go back to the gladiator days or forward to the hillary looks good nekkid days before any of those nimrod morons up there do anything but pad their own pockets and it doesn't really matter which letter they have after their name.

[DoughtyOne]

I am convinced that if the Feds got every penny of your and my paychecks, they'd find a way to make sure we had to come up with 10% more to meet our obligation, to heck with eating and a home. Sadly this good cop bad cop routine just keeps on going, with both parties happy as can be to stick it to us on a whim.

[LoudRepublicangirl]

But I thought this and all over catastrophe's are to be blamed on President Bush! Now I am confused.

[LoudRepublicangirl]

That's RED COMMIE!

[jonathanleebrown]

jmstein7, Mich0127; to both of you, very good points!

I have heard arguments both ways, though oddly enough I could not find 2000 results on foxnews.com nor newsmax.com. ABC had them available, would you recommend them mich0127? Hmmm, I tend to not watch (TV, net, etc.) the news because I cannot stand the endless negativity (political and otherwise). I am trying to talk to people such as those here on freerepublic.com because you are the people, you are the ones that really count. Not career politicians, not the media. I would love to hear what the Dems are complaining about and how they are not valid or are not offering feasible alternatives. (is there a way to spin this off to a new thread?) I have to say that some of what little I “know” (or rather have heard) does concern me. For instance the issues with the 9/11 commission. It appears that parts of the government are not speeding this along as they ought to be. I am of the opinion that there is very little that the white house can justify not sharing with the commission (or committee?) There are people not willing to prove that the pres hasn’t lied about certain aspects of the situation and that concerns me. In fact it makes me mad (In the same way that Clinton’s lies about all of those scandals incited near rage).

Utopian is every good word for… hmmm… what I view as an ideal direction for government. And indeed I agree that they are likely not possible in this world. But we are obligated to strive for whatever our ideals are. If we don’t work to better our world, what are we fighting for? (Good point about the not being ruled by a single body, I did not mean to imply this, sorry about the inaccurate info.)

I try to avoid any particularly liberal or conservative bias at this point, mainly by trying to listen and understand both points of view; in what context are they are right (or at least valid), when they are wrong etc. Furthermore, I think this is (one of) the best possible places to post and discuss. I want to learn and contribute (if possible) to the betterment of my world. (“my world” being pretty subjective.) I think that the people here tend to contribute reasoned posts, less inflammatory than many other sites. And I really want to talk with these people. Regarding the truth; I think that it is all perspective, the old blind-men/elephant proverb. I think all (well many) perspectives have some validity to them.

“the Constitution -- as a device, it intentionally makes it difficult to get anything done”,
jmstein7, this is an insightful perspective you have here, I never thought of our government being setup to purposefully slow decision making. That is rather ingenious and goes to show that even if there are problems (and what system is perfect?) that there is a lot of potential left in our system.

[ladyinred]

And this woman could be President. I wonder if she will appoint her communist mentor as Surgeon General?