[ OUR OPINION ]
Vaccine shortage a health
and campaign issue
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The result is a shortage of more than 40 million doses of the vaccine, even with the additional 2.6 million the Bush administration has managed to scrape up from the only other source left for the country. The shortage has sent the elderly, parents of young children and others who are among the 90 million Americans vulnerable to flu infections scrambling for the medicine.
It has also sent the administration scurrying for damage control. The panic that spread through the nation and images of flagging senior citizens waiting in line for hours to get a scarce shot were not what the Bush-Cheney campaign needed as election day approached.
The shortage caught many people by surprise, but it should not have. Health experts have been saying for years that the system for making and distributing vaccines was increasingly deficient.
At the core of the problem is that no one person or agency has the responsibility for securing adequate supply and that there is no system in place to make sure those at highest risk get the medicine when quantities are inadequate. In addition, skimpy profits and the need to reformulate the vaccines every year make drug companies reluctant to produce them.
The current situation came about when British regulators suspended production at a Liverpool plant owned by Chiron, an American company that had been contracted to supply the United States with about half of the doses, because of bacterial contamination. The Food and Drug Administration and other health officials contend that the British government failed to inform them that a suspension could be coming. However, the FDA was aware of Chiron's problems, having found contamination at the plant last year. Two months ago, Chiron again noted contamination, but assured the FDA it could resolve the issue. Instead of seeking backup supplies, the agency simply crossed its fingers and hoped for the best.
The shortage has become a thorn in the Bush campaign. After a week of confusion and panic and reports of price gouging, Tommy Thompson, secretary of health and human services, told elderly and chronically ill people to "relax," adding that the flu season was months away, possibly unaware that vaccines are administered early because they take a while to become effective.
Meanwhile, Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney tried to shift criticism by claiming that lawsuits force manufacturers from the market, obliquely pointing fingers at John Edwards, John Kerry's running mate, who was a malpractice attorney. However, in 1986, Congress pass a law that largely shields vaccine makers from serious liability and this year added flu vaccines to the program. The bill awaits the president's signature.
The vaccine problem has been a long time coming and should not be blamed solely on the Bush administration. However, the current fiasco occurred under its watch and should have gotten its attention.
