Flu Shot Info

Help Support CattleToday:

la4angus

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 31, 2004
Messages
5,063
Reaction score
3
Location
South La
An interesting piece came in an e-mail today.

Subject: Flu Shot Info

How the vaccine works:

Influenza vaccine is produced by growing the virus in eggs. The
virus is killed and processed to create the vaccine, which is given
by injection under the skin. The body then produces antibodies to
the virus over the next two to four weeks. If the immunized person
then comes into contact with the influenza virus, the antibodies
attack and kill the virus before it has a chance to cause infection.
The vaccine contains the 3 most likely strains to be active during
the "flu season".

Why the shortage ??

Almost half of the nation's flu vaccine will not be delivered this
year. Chiron, a major manufacturer of flu vaccine, will not be
distributing any influenza vaccine this flu season. Chiron was to
make 46-48 million doses vaccine for the United States. Chiron is a
British company. Recently British health officials stopped Chiron
from distributing and making the vaccine when inspectors found
unsanitary conditions in the labs. Some lots of the vaccine were
recalled and destroyed.

Why is our vaccine made in the UK and not the US ??

The major pharmaceutical companies in the US provided almost 90% of
the nations flu vaccine at one time. They did this despite a very
low profit margin for the product. Basically, they were doing us a
favor. In the late 80's a man from North Carolina who had received
the vaccine got the flu. The strain he caught was one of the strains
in that years vaccine made by a US company. What did he do? He sued
and he won. He was awarded almost $5 million! After that case was
appealed and lost, most US pharmaceutical companies stopped making
the vaccine. The liability out weighed the profit margin. Since UK
and Canadian laws prohibit such frivolous law suits UK and Canadian
companies began selling the vaccine in the US.

By the way ... the lawyer that represented the man in the flu shot
law suit was a young ambulance chaser by the name of John Edwards.

Just thought that you should know.
 
la4angus":gc58gxx3 said:
By the way ... the lawyer that represented the man in the flu shot
law suit was a young ambulance chaser by the name of John Edwards.

Just thought that you should know.

Thanks for the piece of information La. I have several "undecided" friends that now have that in their e-mail inbox.
 
certherfbeef":2m5iny8y said:
Thanks for the piece of information La. I have several "undecided" friends that now have that in their e-mail inbox.
I expect you are talking "undecided" about getting their flu shots.
 
Here is a related article from the Seattle Times:


Plenty of flu shots available in Canada

By Carol M. Ostrom
Seattle Times staff reporter


Several clinics in the Vancouver, B.C., area are offering flu shots to Americans, and their phones are ringing off the hooks with potential customers.
"We're definitely welcoming Americans," said Lynn Crosby, an office assistant at the International Travel Health and Vaccination Clinic in Surrey, B.C., about 10 minutes from the border. "We had someone here today from South Carolina, and a woman from New York is flying in tomorrow."

That clinic and a sister clinic in Langley, B.C., are offering flu shots for $20, American or Canadian. Walk-ins are accepted from noon to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Some Saturday clinics are planned as well.

Yesterday, the Victoria Clipper, a high-speed catamaran service between Seattle and Victoria, B.C., on Vancouver Island, announced it would offer a round-trip-and-flu-shot package at a discount price of $105.

A vaccine shortage in the United States has many Americans looking elsewhere for their flu shots.

The U.S. supply of flu vaccine this winter had been expected to be about 100 million doses. But the United States now is expected to get about half that amount because of contamination at one of the two manufacturers that provide vaccine here.

Canada's largest vaccine producer isn't licensed to sell the shots in the United States. But Canadian officials say their vaccine is just as effective as the U.S. vaccine.

King County health officials have surveyed health-care providers to create an inventory of the vaccine supply. Results released yesterday show that while most hospitals in King County have some vaccine, most nursing homes and about 80 percent of smaller health clinics and private providers surveyed have none.

The providers who responded said they have received about 20 percent of the vaccine they originally ordered.

The nation's total flu vaccine supply will reach about 61 million doses this season, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said last night. The government hopes to get about 2 million more doses from Canadian suppliers and is negotiating with three European countries to try to get unused vaccine.

Public Health — Seattle & King County does not control distribution of the vaccine. But as more is shipped, health officials will use the inventory to make sure vaccine goes where it's needed most, said Matias Valenzuela, spokesman for Public Health.

Health officials say vaccine should be reserved only for those at risk of complications from the flu. That includes children ages 6 months to 23 months, people older than 65, and those between ages 2 and 65 with chronic illness.

It's still not known exactly when or how much additional vaccine is coming to King County providers, Valenzuela said.

The federal government announced yesterday that vaccine maker Aventis Pasteur is shipping up to 3 million doses a week to health-care providers around the country.

Canadian clinics and flu-shot providers ordered their vaccine either from ID Biomedical, a Canadian company, or from Aventis Pasteur's French branch, neither of which has had a problem supplying vaccines.

California-based Chiron, which was expected to provide about half of the U.S. supply, lost its license to make vaccine Oct. 5 because of problems with contamination. That leaves Aventis Pasteur as the only U.S. supplier.

Dr. Paul Assad, the medical director for the Canadian clinics in Surrey and Langley, said his clinics had plenty of flu vaccine to share with Americans. "It's amazing how much product is out there, actually," he said, because many Canadian clinics purchased too many doses.

Assad said the surplus resulted from a change in policy this year by the Canadian government, which runs the taxpayer-funded national health-care system.

Typically, Assad said, the government provides flu vaccine free to those considered to be high risk, but others must pay for immunizations, typically at for-profit travel clinics. Last year, children from 6 months to 3 years of age were not in the high-risk category, so private clinics ordered enough vaccine to cover the anticipated fee-for-service demand.

Following similar recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Canada's health authorities this year added those children to the list of high-risk patients who would receive free shots, and purchased enough vaccine to cover them. The result: more vaccine than needed.

"I'm getting calls from other clinics, farther away (from the border) saying, 'I'm going to be stuck here with additional vaccine,' " Assad said. "So we're buying additional doses."

The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority's Travel Clinic, a fee-for-service clinic operated by the B.C. government in downtown Vancouver, also will accept U.S. patients, said Viviana Zanocco, spokeswoman for the health authority.

Appointments for a special clinic for U.S. patients on Oct. 30 already have been booked, she said, but Americans may make appointments during regular clinic hours. The cost is $50 Canadian, and the clinic will not change money, she said.

The clinic is happy to serve Americans, she said. "It makes money for taxpayers, so we're happy. Have a little lunch whileyou're here; do some shopping."

Costco stores in Canada are not offering vaccinations to Americans at this time, said Rick Duffy, assistant vice president of pharmacy for Costco. Costco contracts with a nurse service to provide the vaccine, and at this point, it's not clear whether there'll be enough to share with Americans, he said.

But the situation is "changing by the hour," Duffy said.

Seattle Times staff reporter Marsha King contributed to this report. Information from The Washington Post was used in this report.
 
Arent most big drug companies just "doing us a favor by producing drugs at little to no profit" nowadays? Thank goodness we had a young lawyer who wasnt afraid to stand up to the big drug companies and take them on in a court of law. Maybe thats why we now have safeguards in place to ensure noone else gets a defective dose of vaccine anymore. Although you didnt quite state it, I am sure you are quite grateful for Mr. Edwards stance also.
 
eric":1954hcky said:
Arent most big drug companies just "doing us a favor by producing drugs at little to no profit" nowadays? Thank goodness we had a young lawyer who wasnt afraid to stand up to the big drug companies and take them on in a court of law. Maybe thats why we now have safeguards in place to ensure no one else gets a defective dose of vaccine anymore. Although you didnt quite state it, I am sure you are quite grateful for Mr. Edwards stance also.

The rare instances of a "wonder" drug killing or maiming a human are just that..."rare". How many people died with the Polio, Small Pox, etc., vaccines? Or, from the antibiotic Penicillin? Don't think anyone would blame a USA drug company for those either.... Anyway...

to drive out a USA Drug manufacturer out of producing an American Made drug due to a frivilous lawsuit by a headline seeking novice lawyer is IMO a "crime against the USA"... that is, making it extremely difficult for USA Companies to compete with foreign (less restrictive) companies (or, USA companies forced to take their manufacturing activities abroad for economic reasons).

"Defeat Kerry & Edwards" --- Save A Nation!
 
I am amazed daily that somebody could actually think that big government is good and big business is bad. That kind of thinking is going to ruin this great country.
The biggest lie I know is " We are from the government and we are here to help."
 
la4angus":1r3xp69g said:
In the late 80's a man from North Carolina who had received the vaccine got the flu. The strain he caught was one of the strains in that years vaccine made by a US company. What did he do? He sued and he won. He was awarded almost $5 million! After that case was
appealed and lost, most US pharmaceutical companies stopped making
the vaccine. The liability out weighed the profit margin. Since UK
and Canadian laws prohibit such frivolous law suits UK and Canadian
companies began selling the vaccine in the US.

By the way ... the lawyer that represented the man in the flu shot
law suit was a young ambulance chaser by the name of John Edwards.

Just thought that you should know.

If I was a judge, I wouldn't award that man one red cent! That's the whole problem - businesses today are afraid to market a product because of lawsuits, so they either move elsewhere (overseas) or go out of business. I can't blame them!
 
eric":1l438zl2 said:
Bill, no one made them stop manufacturing the product, the lawsuit just made them stop making defective doses and passing them off as legit.

Eric are you really this misinformed or are you just stupid? I can tell you for a fact that under the best of circumstances,the flu vaccine is only 52% effective, and that a lot of people get the flu anyway wether they take the flu vaccine or not. The individual that sued and won 5 million dollars caused a company that was making marginal profit on the vaccine at best and was doing it as a service to our country stop making it because of the threat of being sued by a judicial sytem run amok.The likes of john edwards is what is ruining health care in this country and making it so no one can afford malpractice insurance or health insurance premiums. Just look at the neurosurgeons that have had to move out of states with the highest malpractice insurance to other states where they could afford to practice. The same thing now is happening to ob-gyn doc's. Family practice physicians were forced years ago to stop delivering babies because the hospital could no longer afford the malpractice insurance even in cases of uncomplicated pregnancies. WAKE UP BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
 
SPRINGER FARMS MURRAY GRE":z1el30co said:
eric":z1el30co said:
Bill, no one made them stop manufacturing the product, the lawsuit just made them stop making defective doses and passing them off as legit.

Eric are you really this misinformed or are you just stupid? I can tell you for a fact that under the best of circumstances,the flu vaccine is only 52% effective, and that a lot of people get the flu anyway wether they take the flu vaccine or not. The individual that sued and won 5 million dollars caused a company that was making marginal profit on the vaccine at best and was doing it as a service to our country stop making it because of the threat of being sued by a judicial sytem run amok.The likes of john edwards is what is ruining health care in this country and making it so no one can afford malpractice insurance or health insurance premiums. Just look at the neurosurgeons that have had to move out of states with the highest malpractice insurance to other states where they could afford to practice. The same thing now is happening to ob-gyn doc's. Family practice physicians were forced years ago to stop delivering babies because the hospital could no longer afford the malpractice insurance even in cases of uncomplicated pregnancies. WAKE UP BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Just another example of the socialist faction of our society that wants something for free and believes the world owe's them something. And if the world doesn't pay find a good lawyer.
 
eric":24wjbe3s said:
Bill, no one made them stop manufacturing the product, the lawsuit just made them stop making defective doses and passing them off as legit.

Good grief. One of the worst problems is that people no longer want something for free, they demand everything for nothing. I saw a bumper sticker today that I really liked. On it was written, "I fight poverty, I work."
 
eric":3un63t0u said:
Arent most big drug companies just "doing us a favor by producing drugs at little to no profit" nowadays? Thank goodness we had a young lawyer who wasnt afraid to stand up to the big drug companies and take them on in a court of law. Maybe thats why we now have safeguards in place to ensure noone else gets a defective dose of vaccine anymore. Although you didnt quite state it, I am sure you are quite grateful for Mr. Edwards stance also.

Eric,

Ever wonder why it is that prescription medications are so high in this country and so much cheaper overseas? Let me clue you in! England,Canada,Germany, France, etc. have price controls in place which prevent the drug companies from charging more there. What this means is, they do not share the burden of paying for the research and development that goes into developing each and every drug.Millions are spent on R&D by the drug companies and they have only so long to recoup their expenditures and make a profit before it goes generic and evryone starts making and selling it. It takes 15 - 20 years to get a new drug to market and is terribly expensive to develop and market. If these price controls were lifted, it would make a level playing field, their prices would go up some,and ours would come down some, but we would all share the burden of developing new and more powerful drugs to fight disease and save lives. It would also encourage other companies to do the same,thus more competition and better proces. In otherwords, good old fashioned capitalism. Make sense???
 
Campground Cattle":3jxzf077 said:
SPRINGER FARMS MURRAY GRE":3jxzf077 said:
eric":3jxzf077 said:
Bill, no one made them stop manufacturing the product, the lawsuit just made them stop making defective doses and passing them off as legit.

Eric are you really this misinformed or are you just stupid? I can tell you for a fact that under the best of circumstances,the flu vaccine is only 52% effective, and that a lot of people get the flu anyway wether they take the flu vaccine or not. The individual that sued and won 5 million dollars caused a company that was making marginal profit on the vaccine at best and was doing it as a service to our country stop making it because of the threat of being sued by a judicial sytem run amok.The likes of john edwards is what is ruining health care in this country and making it so no one can afford malpractice insurance or health insurance premiums. Just look at the neurosurgeons that have had to move out of states with the highest malpractice insurance to other states where they could afford to practice. The same thing now is happening to ob-gyn doc's. Family practice physicians were forced years ago to stop delivering babies because the hospital could no longer afford the malpractice insurance even in cases of uncomplicated pregnancies. WAKE UP BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Just another example of the socialist faction of our society that wants something for free and believes the world owe's them something. And if the world doesn't pay find a good lawyer.



Who said anything about getting anything free? Pay attention and read before you respond!!!

Not wanting anything free, but is it expecting too much to get what you are paying for??
 
SPRINGER FARMS MURRAY GRE":zq0ck35q said:
eric":zq0ck35q said:
Arent most big drug companies just "doing us a favor by producing drugs at little to no profit" nowadays? Thank goodness we had a young lawyer who wasnt afraid to stand up to the big drug companies and take them on in a court of law. Maybe thats why we now have safeguards in place to ensure noone else gets a defective dose of vaccine anymore. Although you didnt quite state it, I am sure you are quite grateful for Mr. Edwards stance also.

Eric,

Ever wonder why it is that prescription medications are so high in this country and so much cheaper overseas? Let me clue you in! England,Canada,Germany, France, etc. have price controls in place which prevent the drug companies from charging more there. What this means is, they do not share the burden of paying for the research and development that goes into developing each and every drug.Millions are spent on R&D by the drug companies and they have only so long to recoup their expenditures and make a profit before it goes generic and evryone starts making and selling it. It takes 15 - 20 years to get a new drug to market and is terribly expensive to develop and market. If these price controls were lifted, it would make a level playing field, their prices would go up some,and ours would come down some, but we would all share the burden of developing new and more powerful drugs to fight disease and save lives. It would also encourage other companies to do the same,thus more competition and better proces. In otherwords, good old fashioned capitalism. Make sense???


WHAT??? Put the drink down, get some rest, and post again in the morning when you are a little more coherant.
 
O K ..now I get your idea of capitalism. You sell your 6 mo old calves at $1.00 a lb. You neighbor sells his 6 mo calves at $1.30 a lb. You start whining to the gov't. that it's not fair for him to get more because he can afford to have his hay tested, precondition his calves, and spend the extra money it takes to make them better. So rather than force you to make your calves better, you expect the govt to take away money from your neighbor and give it to you? Kind of like the "theirs go up, ours go down a little philosophy! So you believe we should be paid on the basis of need and not on the basis of production? No company is guaranteed a profit in this country just by opening its doors up. (unless, of course, you ex-ceo becomes vp)
 

Latest posts

Top