Back to questions: So, how much immunity would someone 10 years older have? Does this get back to perported "strength" of live virus in early vaccines?
"Approximately half of the US population has never been vaccinated For those who were vaccinated, it is not known how long immunity lasts (most estimates suggest 3-5 years); meaning that nearly the entire US population has partial immunity at best Immunity can be boosted effectively with a single revaccination Prior infection grants lifelong immunity"
Wyeth has a patent on a vaccine called Prevnar. In other words, they have a complete monopoly on this vaccine. After they got the patent, the CDC suggested (and the ACIP agreed) to putting Prevnar on the national required vaccine list in 2001. The vaccine is $70.00 per dose and is the single most expensive vaccine on the market. The Wyeth people refuse to permit the doctors a 90 day payment plan (it takes 45-90 days for most insurance companies to reimburse the cost of the vaccine). This means that the medical group/physician has to subsidize the vaccines for the kids in their practice. No other company has such pricing or rules.
Ironically, the company has been in hot water over their inability to properly produce the vaccine in sufficient quantity. So, for the past six months there have been periodic shortages of the vaccine.
Now, class, think about this one... if the company can not produce enough vaccine (and THEY spent two years lobbying the national committees to add the vaccine to the national protocol), does anyone in the class think the company can suddenly produce 10 million doses of smallpox vaccine?
All together class! "NOT"