Well not exactly free, technically speaking, because after all someone has to pay those drug companies for the vaccines. They don't really give that stuff away you know, they have shareholders to consider. So you will pay for it with your tax dineros, and you will pay for it in more than one way, but it will seem free because no filthy germy cash will change hands down at the street level, and also, you probably won't drop dead right away. Which is a feature not a bug. This is a generous offer people.
WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) - A Democratic U.S. senator proposed on Friday setting up a free nationwide voluntary flu vaccination program to fend off future outbreaks of dangerous strains.
With the United States on alert for more cases of the new H1N1 swine flu virus, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin said the government should include funding for free vaccines for all Americans in the supplemental spending bill now moving through Congress.
"The harsh reality is that we have repeatedly experienced devastating flu pandemics," Harkin said in a statement. [Perhaps overstating the case with dramatic flourish.]
"Strictly as a matter of prudent prevention, it is desirable [for big pharma] to maximize the number of Americans who are vaccinated each year," Harkin said. President Barack Obama has requested $1.5 billion from Congress to address the ongoing swine flu outbreak.
Seasonal flu kills more than 30,000 Americans each year and costs the economy more than $90 billion.
New strains such as H1N1, which has infected 331 people in 13 countries including more than 100 in the United States, are potentially even more dangerous as it takes time to develop vaccines against them.
Harkin, who chairs the Senate appropriations subcommittee on health, said his bill would help build vaccine-manufacturing capacity and prevent production capacity from becoming idle. [$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$]
"By offering annual free vaccines to all 304 million people in the United States, our vaccine-production capacity will be up and running and ready to shift, when necessary, to mass production of vaccines to fight a future outbreak or pandemic," Harkin's statement said. [la la la la $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$]
He said intended to incorporate the measure into broader health reform legislation that Democrats want to pass later this year.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [The shop of horrors behind the scenes...] recommends that children aged between 5-18 be vaccinated against seasonal influenza and already pays for many under a government program which provides about 43 percent of all recommended childhood vaccines in the United States. [$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$]
At least 20 companies make flu vaccines, including Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), Novartis (NOVN.VX), Baxter International (BAX.N), Australia's CSL (CSL.AX) and nasal spray maker MedImmune, now part of AstraZeneca (AZN.L).
[$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$]
(reporting by Andrew Quinn, editing by Alan Elsner)
[EDITORIAL CONTENT IN BRACKETS BY YOURS TRULY]
Comments
Drug testing? Forget about it. They'll need to fast track this shit and pump it into our system, despite the known side effects. IT'S A PANDEMIC!
Who said our government is not efficient. Look how many birds they can kill with one stone!
So one of the difficult decisions the Obama Administration will face if the epidemic spins out of control is whether to fast-track approval of a next-generation, possibly riskier, vaccine. The bigger the crisis, the greater the tolerance for regulatory risk. [FDA approval was granted April 30]
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2009/tc20090427_386206.htm
These pharmas are going to make a bundle! Imagine pumping an untested vaccine into 300 million people with the potential to kill a percentage of them, all so people won't get loose stool syndrome and a fever.
Below is the testimony from Joshua Sharfstein, acting commissioner of the FDA, on April 30th, regarding fast-track and preparedness. It's like a cheat-sheet for stock investors:
http://www.fda.gov/ola/2009/flu043009.html
Sharfstein was an Obama pick for the FDA after he was pushed onto the scene by the drug lobby. He's a big pusher of vaccines. Here's the scoop on Sharfstein:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=al49I5JmbAks
Money, money, money.
Consumer Protection Team
This team has the goal of protecting consumers from fraudulent and potentially dangerous medical products. FDA is monitoring the internet for sites selling products that claim to prevent, treat, or cure the 2009-H1N1 Flu Virus, among other activities to protect consumers.that's right, they're gonna monitor the internets for sites selling products that *claim* to prevent, treat, or cure the virus. and they're going to do the same thing under official cover and make a bloody fortune. but that's DIFFERENT.
Two - Four - Six - Eight.
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Israel! Israel!
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