H1N1 Vaccine: 40 Million Doses Promised Only 13 Million Available

Why would the Government promise 40 Million doses of the H1N1 vaccine if the drug companies could not deliver? Can you imagine being one of the 1,700 people that waited outside Washington, DC in a long line, for almost 11 hours, to get the H1N1 vaccine only to find that the clinic ran out of their supply in just ninety minutes. Well, it's probably safe to assume that the people who waited all those hours just outside of Washington, DC must have felt tired, hungry, frustrated, and angry.

However, it is being reported that production and distribution of the H1N1 vaccine is slow. And to add insult to injury it is being blamed on the antiquated, century old production process used for Flu Vaccines. CBS News is reporting that the process starts with the CDC (Center for Disease Control) isolating the virus - the H1N1 virus was identified in May - then the "seed virus" was sent to the drug companies which inject it into chicken eggs so it can multiply, next the virus is extracted and purified, and finally turned into vaccines. This "antiquated" process is said to normally take approximately nine months, however, the drug companies tried to rush it and do it in five to six months.

Of course the drug companies are willing to "rush" the process because they will make a hefty profit off of the vaccines they make and sell. Jim Axelrod of CBS News reports that one of five companies making the H1N1 vaccine, Novartis, anticipates making nearly $900 million in the United States from sales, and nearly a billion dollars in sales world-wide.¹ But how can the drug companies rush a century old production process for something that is vital to our health? One cannot help but wonder if these companies will be producing a quality and safe H1N1 flu vaccine.

In another CBS report Dr. Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic asks:² "How do we know it's safe?" That report also reminds us of the 1976 mass inoculations against a different swine flu that were messed up by reports of a rare paralyzing condition, Gullain-Barre Seyndrom.³

The question still remains why would the Government promise 40 million doses? And why would the Government hope to have 50 million doses available a month from now, and 150 million doses available by December? Does our Government want the drug companies to rush the process?

People are worried, frightened, and have many questions. CNN Health's "What to know about getting H1N1 vaccine" page has answers to many common questions you may have; where to get the H1N1 vaccine, who should get it, is it a mandatory vaccine, and many other concerns and questions that you or someone you know may have.

Personally, I do not endorse or refute any information here. People have to educate themselves, and make informed decisions when it comes to serious matters that concern their health, and the health of their loved ones. We cannot simply listen to a news report that tells us what we should or should not do, and we should not react out of fear. There are mixed feelings about whether one should get the H1N1 vaccine, some people are totally against it, and others are for it. It is, and should remain, a personal decision.

Sources:

¹ "H1N1 Vaccine Supply Low" by Jim Axelrod of CBS News

² "Government Tracks H1N1 - Side Affects" by CBS/AP

³ "NINDS Gullain-Barre Syndrome Information Page" - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke