http://myelomablog.com/2004/10/26/flu-shot/ Ramblings and rants about my life, including my myeloma experiences. (Since 2003) Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:07:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7-almost-rc-9983 hourly 1 http://myelomablog.com/2004/10/26/flu-shot/comment-page-1/#comment-143 Dan Bammes Sun, 31 Oct 2004 20:47:49 +0000 /?p=330#comment-143 The cause of the vaccine shortage is a simple lack of foresight and planning by our public health authorities. Pharmaceutical companies don't manufacture vaccines because the price is low and the potential liability issues are high. It's much better for them to put their money into things like Zometa (see Beth's blog entry above; Zometa costs about $1800.00 for a four milligram dose while flu vaccine costs about $12.00 on a good day.)<br> Broadcasters are licensed to serve the public interest and can, in theory, lose their licenses if they don't. Pharmaceutical manufacturers need to be licensed and regulated in a similar way. The price of being the most profitable industry in the world needs to be a commitment to the public interest. The cause of the vaccine shortage is a simple lack of foresight and planning by our public health authorities. Pharmaceutical companies don’t manufacture vaccines because the price is low and the potential liability issues are high. It’s much better for them to put their money into things like Zometa (see Beth’s blog entry above; Zometa costs about $1800.00 for a four milligram dose while flu vaccine costs about $12.00 on a good day.)
Broadcasters are licensed to serve the public interest and can, in theory, lose their licenses if they don’t. Pharmaceutical manufacturers need to be licensed and regulated in a similar way. The price of being the most profitable industry in the world needs to be a commitment to the public interest.

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