Kerry Hits Bush On Lack Of Flu Vaccine (New TV Ad Hits Bush As Well)

[KittyWampus]

see Kerry website for ad here:
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_1016a.html

Kerry hits Bush on lack of flu vaccine

BY DAVID JACKSON

The Dallas Morning News


XENIA, Ohio - (KRT) - John Kerry hopes a lack of flu vaccine will make President Bush politically ill.

During a Saturday bus tour of southern Ohio, the Democratic challenger said Bush ignored years of warnings about possible shortages and contamination.

"Now he tells healthy Americans not to get their flu shots," Kerry told supporters in a packed high school gymnasium. "Sounds like his health care plan - pray you don't get sick."

snip

Kerry called the flu vaccine part of a pattern. He said the president has dropped the ball on any number of festering problems, from continuing violence in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq to the outsourcing of American jobs.

Describing the technique, Kerry said: "Deny it, pretend it's not there and then try to hide it when it comes out and act surprised - `oh, my gosh!'"

Mocking the Bush team for saying they wouldn't have done anything differently, Kerry said: "This guy is never in doubt, but frequently in error."

With long lines for flu shots much in the news, the Kerry campaign is hitting the issue hard, producing a television ad that calls the shortages "a George Bush mess."

snip
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/election2004/9938191.htm?1c

[lancdem]

1. Some context

National polls at this point had Gore trailing Bush by a lot more than Kerry trails Bush now. He's in much better shape than Gore was.

[KittyWampus]

3. Kerry Isn't Trailing...

[Wapsie B]

2. Hey, why should chimpy take the chance

of an angry Senior backlash in the election? Hope for a flue epidemic just before the election to thin the numbers a bit. I wish I were being facetious about this.

[Seabiscuit]

4. I wouldn't put it past these murderous bastards

[fujiyama]

19. Bush should be worried

about the senior vote. In FL for example he has consistantly trailed Kerry among them.

What I don't get is how some polls had Bush leading there when Kerry has decent leads among the youth and seniors.

It looks like the state has tightened though. I hope it goes back to where it was during the summer, when it showed Kerry with huge leads there.

Regarding the flu thing though, I'm glad Kerry is going after him on this. He didn't really attack him on it in the debate...It sorta slipped.

[MasonJar]

5. According to another DU article, the US company that made the

vaccines was in England, and the British inspectors found the problem and closed the co. down. Without the British we would all be taking unsafe vaccines. Therefore, Bush did not know he'd be short, but if he had he would undoubtedly have let us take the vaccines anyway.

[VegasWolf]

14. Yes, this is true, an American company outsourced the job of

manufacturing the vaccine to a Brittish drug manufacturing company.
Outsourcing is the way of the future!!!!


New Information Shows Bush Indecisive, Paranoid, Delusional

[CAcyclist]

31. You're right - the FDA did it before

The FDA approved use of contaminated vaccine from the *same* factory in 2000:

I've been doing some internet research. I found that the factory that the British shut down has a longer history than is being stated. This factory which is currently owned by Chiron was part of Powderject when Chiron acquired Powderject in 2003.Powderject acquired the factory from Celtech which acquired it from Medeva and look what happened when Medeva owned it:

This says that Fluvarin may be contaminated with BSE(mad cow disease) but even if it isn't, it has a long history of contamination and the FDA should have known relying on this factory for half of its vaccines would be very risky especially without even inspecting it!

http://proliberty.com/observer/20001208.htm

From the December 2000 Idaho Observer:


FDA approves potentially contaminated Medeva flu vaccine for
use in U.S.
<snip>

And now, because, public health officials claim, supplies of
influenza vaccine are in short supply this season, the FDA has
approved for sale in this country 20 million doses of flu vaccine that
may be contaminated with the prion protein crystal that causes mad
cow disease.

By Virginia Winston

Earlier this year, according to an October, 2000 article by the The
Observer, a leading British newspaper, British pharmaceutical
company Medeva's Liverpool plant was found by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration to be producing vaccines in filthy conditions.
The FDA report found that Medeva neither maintained nor cleaned its
equipment. It also reported that Medeva was unable to prove that its
vaccines were not contaminated with bacteria or fungi.

<snip>

Because it exports flu vaccine to America, Medeva got a U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) “warning” to clean up its act.
However, in a report dated October 22, 2000, The Observer noted
that the FDA had not re-inspected the filthy Medeva factory since it
sent the warning letter earlier this year and has given the company the
green light to sell an estimated 20,000,000 doses of its “Fluvarin” flu
vaccine in the U.S. during this cold and flu season.

The British government recently recalled Medeva's oral polio vaccine
(OPV) as it had been grown from “bovine material of UK origin”
contrary to mandated vaccine production protocols. Until its removal
from the marketplace last month,
<snip>
The Medeva Fluvarin vaccine, produced in the same plant that
produced the recalled OPV, may have the potential of opening the
floodgates of a “mad cow” epidemic in the U.S.


http://www.observer.co.uk/

Go to “Information,” then “Archive,” then type “Medeva” in the
keyword box. See especially the October 22 article “Revealed: ful
scale of vaccine blunders.”



http://www.iht.com/articles/542541.html

Contamination problems were not new to the plant. Polio vaccines made there by
Medeva, another previous owner, before 1996 were recalled in October 2000 after British authorities said they might be contaminated with mad cow disease. In
1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration notified Medeva that there were risks of contamination in the flu vaccine produced at the plant.

http://www.science-enterprise.ox.ac.uk/html/PaulDrayson.asp

After a year we identified our first target - a British pharmaceutical company, Medeva, that had been acquired by Celtech.   Medeva contained a drug business and a vaccine business. ...we acquired Medeva in 2000. It employed about 600 people on a 14-acre site in Liverpool and its most important product was a flu vaccine.”  

http://stg.syndnet.thomsonfn.com/InvestorRelations/PubNewsStory.aspx?partner=5425&storyId=97611

Total third-quarter 2003 revenues for PowderJect Pharmaceuticals, which Chiron acquired during the third quarter

[KittyWampus]

6. Well, Let's Hope DU'ers Get This Message

:kick:

[Dem2theMax]

7. Love that first line.

"John Kerry hopes a lack of flu vaccine will make President Bush politically ill."

He's not the only one.

And as someone else said, I wouldn't put it past * and his gang to let this happen so the ranks of the elderly are thinned out. Less $ needed for Medicare and Social Security. THAT'S how he's gonna save money there.

My blood pressure just went up. Again. AAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGG.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. Good point

about the elderly.

Also remember, they ALWAYS vote. They probably have the highest voting percentage of any age group.

[kori]

8. Can someone tell me?

There use to be, I think 4 manufactures of the Flu Vaccine. Don't be fooled the vaccine process is awarded by the Feds. I assume by the FDA but maybe by the Center of Disease control each year. Does anyone know when the orders were reduced to only 2 manufactures?

[kori]

10. I have not found my answer yet but I found this........

This is the same company that the British found had contaminated samples. So much for our FDA giving approval to companies with better practices than the companies in Canada.

Chiron Receives Bird Flu Vaccine Contract
The Associated Press


WASHINGTON - The National Institutes of Health awarded Chiron Corp. a $1.194 million contract to develop up to 40,000 doses of vaccine against H9N2 avian influenza, a type of bird flu that is less lethal but more widespread than the strain that killed 27 this year in Asia.

The August issue of the Journal of Virology suggested the H9N2 strain has gotten hotter in recent years, killing far more lab mice than the same strain that circulated just four years earlier. That increased virulence, its prevalence among birds and the ability of the H9N2 virus to infect humans raises fears it could trigger a pandemic, scientists warned.

snip........

"Given the poor condition of public health systems in many developing regions and the ubiquity of modern air travel, the consequences of a widespread outbreak of avian influenza in humans could be severe," said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "Information generated under this contract will be important for preparing our nation and the world against new influenza viruses with pandemic potential."

Snip.........


Chiron will manufacture the H9N2 vaccine in Siena, Italy, using an inactivated strain of the virus provided by the Centers for Disease Control. The Emeryville, Calif.-based company will manufacture up to 40,000 doses of the vaccine. Some will contain a substance that increases the vaccine's protective value and - perhaps - may permit the health agency to stretch its vaccine supply by lowering doses.

NIAID is scheduled to conduct clinical trials using both versions of the vaccine as early as 2005.

Chiron shares rose 13 cents to close at $46.02 Tuesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

This was August 2004, wonder how many shares the Bushies own.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/94-08172004-349728.html

[Seabiscuit]

11. The question still remains(SCANDAL OF MAJOR PROPORTIONS)...

What the fuck happened to the flu vaccines this year?

Why in an election year?

To kill of elderly people who will vote against Bush because his policies are royally screwing them?

We all know it happened, AGAIN, on Bush's "watch".

This is a SCANDAL OF MAJOR PROPORTIONS!!!

Kerry's campaign staff should be all over this right through Nov. 2!!!

[kori]

18. Must be another "wall" that incompetence can hide behind.

The FDA, apparently knew a YEAR ago there were problems at this plant, and took Chirons word that things were getting better. No contact was made between the FDA and British health Services. Is there another damn wall that we can blame this screw up on or just stupidity again!!!!!

MONDAY, Oct. 11 (HealthDayNews) -- U.S. health officials Monday denied reports that they knew before last week that there were major production problems with a key American manufacturer's flu vaccine, which caused British authorities to suspend the company's license.

"The most recent inspections did not give any indication that Chiron would not be able to fulfill its recent public promise," Dr. Lester Crawford, acting commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said at a news conference

snip.........

On Monday, however, USA Today reported that U.S. health regulators had identified problems at the British plant more than a year ago, in June 2003.

snip...........


FDA and Chiron officials were in weekly contact regarding conditions at the Liverpool plant, and "no one at FDA was notified by Chiron of any increased level of concern regarding the company's investigation into bacterial contamination," Crawford said. "Chiron said the investigation was nearly complete, and the re-testing of lots which were initially negative were still shown to be negative."

While the FDA was communicating regularly with Chiron, it did not appear to be communicating with British authorities

http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docID=52...

[JusticeForAll]

15. I don't know when, but I did hear the why

Vaccines are not profitable, so companies opt not to make them.

I think the source was Lou Dobbs

[kori]

16. Not Profitable?

Oh I do not think so, vaccines have always been profitable. The margin of profit, which may have been what Lou Dobbs was referring too, may not be as great as say a new Erectile Dysfunction drug, but there is profit built in.

[kori]

17. There was a shortage last year too.

The administrations solution was to buy more from Chiron last year. Why was not this problem addressed more fully after the shortage last year?

Dec 15, 2003 (CIDRAP News)  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is buying 375,000 doses of influenza vaccine from British drug maker Chiron to boost the nation's waning vaccine supply, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced today.

In addition, HHS has negotiated a contract for 3 million doses of the intranasal vaccine FluMist that state and local health departments can buy if needed, Thompson announced.

Thompson said the Chiron vaccine is a type already licensed and in use in the United States. Currently in bulk form, the vaccine needs to be packaged and will become available in January. "The vaccine will be made available for state and local purchase according to an allocation system designed to ensure equitable distribution of vaccine," the HHS announcement said.

Chiron is one of only two current manufacturers of injectable flu vaccine for the US market. Thompson announced Dec 11 that HHS was buying 250,000 doses of flu vaccine from the other major manufacturer, Aventis Pasteur. That purchase included 100,000 doses of adult vaccine, available immediately, and 150,000 doses of children's vaccine to become available in January.
Dec 15, 2003 (CIDRAP News)  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is buying 375,000 doses of influenza vaccine from British drug maker Chiron to boost the nation's waning vaccine supply, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced today.

In addition, HHS has negotiated a contract for 3 million doses of the intranasal vaccine FluMist that state and local health departments can buy if needed, Thompson announced.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/ hot/flu/news/dec1503fluvaccine.html

[kori]

23. Why did Chiron Flu Crisis Affect USA more than England?

17 Oct 2004
Why did the British never allow themselves to become dependent on just two flu major flu vaccine suppliers like the Americans did? According to health experts, they did this in case the current Chiron flu vaccine crisis happened - to make sure the nation's people were not left in a vulnerable position.

Last August UK officials, with the same information the US officials had, decided something had to be done in case the Chiron supplies, 14% of UK supplies, went belly up. The US officials decided to believe Chiron and gamble 48% of their supplies on an assurance that everything would turn out fine despite some worrying set backs.

When October 5th arrived, the British authorities pulled the plug on the Chiron, Liverpool, supplies. US authorities were caught out - nothing had been done in advance, the country had allowed itself to get into this situation.

Even without this crisis, the UK authorities have always had a situation where they can fall back on six or seven suppliers that have been pre-approved by UK authorities. The US, on the other hand, only has two - one of which has let them down. Had the US had more pre-approved suppliers, had the US started to do something about this problem last August when alarm bells were ringing, had the US…….? This is what many Americans are now starting to ask.

The American Health Dept saw no reason last August to do anything, says their spokesman Tony Jewell. Americans hear him and ask, so why did the British have a reason, you both worked on the same information, didn't you?

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=15096

[KittyWampus]

24. Thanks For That Bit....

this could end up being another nail in Bush's coffin.

[JusticeForAll]

26. Agreed

A company with limited resources must make the products with the largest ROI. So, less companies opt to make these goods because vaccines provide less profit.

Does this change the argument? No.

[CAcyclist]

32. Vaccines are VERY Profitable

http://www.iht.com/articles/542541.html

. The suspension has cost Chiron not only
three-quarters of the profit it expected this year, but some of its credibility with investors and customers.
.<snip>

Vaccines accounted for about $700 million of the company's $1.75 billion in revenue last year. Fluvirin, the flu vaccine, accounted for $219 million of the total.
With the big increase in production, analysts had expected more than $300 million in revenue from Fluvirin this year.

*************************************************************

And this statement by Paul Drayson, the CEO of Powderject before it got taken over by Chiron:

http://www.science-enterprise.ox.ac.uk/html/PaulDrayson.asp
Moreover, unlike firms in the first category, since the second group marketed their own pharmaceutical products they could make 50% to 80% mark-ups.”  

“Naturally, we decided to join the second group and focus both our business and the application of our technology on vaccines.
.

[mediaman007]

33. It might be good for some companies, but not all

I understand that the vaccine is made from eggs. Only 5 doses can come from one egg. This might make it labor intensive. I don't know about the process.

sarcasm: Cleanup costs must be excessive. /sarcasm

For many companies the profit margin might be better if they have a popular drug that can be made with less effort. So they don't do this vaccine.

[Isere]

9. Good for Kerry!

The very idea that the public health of the nation should repose on only TWO providers! And providers who outsource to foreign countries, for Cripes sake!

I hope Kerry hits hard! This is a disgrace and should become a major political scandal.

My local paper had a front-page article about the nurses and doctors in our emergency rooms who can't even get vaccinated!

How low do we need to fall before we throw these incompetent boobs out of the White House?

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. The repukes

are blaming Hillary. They say her health care proposals scared enough vaccine makers that they went out of business and now there are only two left.

I know this sounds ridiculous. But I have seen this claim made for two days now by repukes on several other discussion boards.

I am still trying to come up with a decent reply, without calling them STOOPID. But it's pretty hard.

[fujiyama]

20. That's hilarious

The FAILED health care proposals by Hillary scared vaccine manufacturers.

These people ALWAYS tie to it Hillary don't they?

[kori]

22. Hillary ?? HaHaHaHa I cant believe it that was a decade ago

They have been aware of problems for some time but the Bush administration did nothing. They can blame NO ONE but themselves

The flu shot shortage
October 7, 2004

A YEAR ago a run on flu vaccine supplies at the start of the season was spurred by several severe cases causing the death of children. This year the supply situation is far worse. Because of contamination, the British government has closed down the Liverpool plant of a US company that produces almost half of all US flu vaccines. Virtually all the rest comes from one French company, Aventis Pasteur. US health officials have been delinquent in not creating a more extensive supply network for both flu and childhood vaccines.

snip.........


But Dr. Julie Gerberding, the head of the CDC, acknowledges that the government has been remiss in not bolstering the supply system for vaccines. Calling the current system "very fragile," Gerberding said to reporters yesterday, "We really need a long-term solution so we don't end up in this year-to-year situation where we don't have a reliable supply."


One reason the system is so weak is that for drug companies, vaccine production is nowhere near as profitable as prescription medications. To encourage adequate production levels, the federal government should at least offer to pay for excess flu shots at the end of a season.

It should also guarantee that vaccine contracts go to enough different companies, including more foreign ones if needed, so the shutdown of one does not leave the nation unprotected, as it is now. An Institute of Medicine report in 2003 noted that there were almost 30 US vaccine makers in 1967 and just five in 2003. The report recommended that the government require insurers to pay for all vaccinations, including childhood ones

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2004/10/07/the_flu_shot_shortage/

[aquart]

29. Answer is EASY.

Britain, with government medicine, has five providers of vaccine. FIVE.

America, with privatized medicine, is reduced to one foreign provider.

Do the math. Privatized medicine has failed to protect the public health.

[KittyWampus]

30. And Now, Cheney Wants To Blame Lawyers

[Iceburg]

21. FACTS: 36,000 Americans Die, 200K hospitalized from Flu Each Year

About 36,000 Americans Die from Flu Each Year .
“Every year in the United States, on average: 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu; more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications; and approximately 36,000 people die from flu.”

Up to 180 Million Americans Could Benefit from a Flu Shot .
“Last year, Gerberding said, about 83 million doses of the vaccine were used out of a stockpile of 87 million doses. Under normal conditions, as many as 180 million Americans could benefit from a flu shot, she said.”

Vaccination Cuts Flu-Related Deaths by 70-80%
Among Seniors . “Vaccination is the principal measure for preventing influenza and reducing the impact of epidemics. … Among the elderly, vaccination is thought to reduce influenza-related morbidity by 60% and influenza-related mortality by 70-80%. Among healthy adults the vaccine is very effective (70-90%) in terms of reducing influenza morbidity, and vaccination has been shown to have substantial health-related and economic benefits in this age group.”
.... more

View the new Kerry ad ... http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_1016a.html

[GinaMaria]

25. This guy is never in doubt, but frequently in error

Love this line. Republicans are so sure they are right, that can't see when they are wrong.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

28. It's a great line : never in doubt, but frequently in error... nt

[KittyWampus]

27. Hoping Mediawhores Get This Story Out

writing to them asking about it.

[bigpathpaul]

34. BigPath Flyer: Please check these out, if the flu shortage is an issue 4 U

Downloads: http://bigpath.net/politics/Children_Families/ChildrenFamiliesStart.html

lu season arrives like clockwork each year. But an inattentive Bush administration has put millions of Americans at risk by failing to supply adequate amounts of vaccine, highlighting the hypocrisy of Bush’s claims that he represents average Americans, while demonstrating time and again how out of touch he really is. Ordinary citizens, thousands of whom may die without the flu vaccine, are ignored by an administration obsessed with boosting corporate bottom lines for wealthy donors.

In the Oct. 13 debate, the president blamed the British for the vaccine shortage. But, Chiron, the manufacturer, is an American company, subject to FDA regulation, with a plant in England. In June 2003, the FDA found the plant contaminated with bacteria yet announced “the problems were corrected to their satisfaction,” allowing production to continue. President Bush claimed that “We took the right action and didn’t allow contaminated medicine into our country.” But that was also false. The plant’s license was revoked by the British on October 5 after they inspected it.

While research and deployment of bioterror countermeasures move at a snail’s pace, drug companies recycle massive profits into commercials for pills to improve sexual performance and combat hay fever. Drug companies enjoy some of the highest profit margins of any American industry, paying 40% less in taxes than other companies. Yet, the cost of drugs to Americans has risen at three times the rate of inflation.

When lobbyists for giant pharmaceutical companies pressured Washington to allow them to extend their patents, the Republican Congress — recipients of millions of dollars in donations from the drug companies — readily cooperated. The result was fewer low-cost generic drugs for working men and women and record profits for the pharmaceutical companies. With the campaign in high gear, phony tax breaks and promises abound, but come November 3rd, if the Republicans retain power, the needs of working men and women and their families will tumble right back down to the bottom of the barrel.

http://www.bigpath.net