Big Pharma is behind H1N1 hysteria? No.

[denem]

The biggest flu emergency in (living) history. A State of Emergency declared. Fatalities (slowly) mount. Get your vaccination now, it's the only way. Pay no attention to the Pharmas behind the curtain. $$$ Profit. Now!

It all fits? Nope. In Australia where they make vaccine, 20 million doses and counting, there's months of experience with H1N1 flu. The same mass roll out is taking place. A huge public health program is under way though their single payer Medicare scheme with barely a dollars profit in sight.

Preventative medicine isn't sexy. The quiet dismay of medical professionals facing misinformed hysteria on all sides doesn't make headlines.

I arrived back in Australia in late September long after their H1N1 peak. Starting with the assumption that swine flu was no more significant than a slightly less fatal seasonal flu, I consulted my (medical) family and regular doctors.

The message was the same: H1N1 is quite unlike a seasonal flu. It threatens different demographics: Middle aged people, diabetics, the overweight, pregnant women, and in Australia, aboriginals. It may not kill many more people but it certainly makes a wide range of people very, very sick.

The advice was the same: It's a standard (i.e. not live) vaccine. Get it.

(Edited for clarity)

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. As soon as it is available I am getting it

:-)

[Ian David]

5. My daughter already got it. There's a waiting list for the adults. n/t

[Johonny]

39. If only the aliens would give us their Vaccine technology

aliens must want us die

[nadinbrzezinski]

42. What the hell are you talking about?

Oh yes, UFOs are real, that does not mean they are from the Planet Zenu... though all those doves... listen to Hartmann and you MIGHT get the joke.

Or did the SR-71 came out of Alpha Centauri and I wasn't watching?

[Oregone]

2. Its much easier to call this stuff in hindsight

Because if your skepticism influences just one person to skip the vax and die, well, at least Id be losing some sleep. But don't worry...its the internet. You can grandstand and pretend its all virtual talk if you end up being very wrong.

[WCGreen]

3. Well, we must take solace in the profits some will make at our expense...

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Flu vaccines are NOT money makers

:-)

[kestrel91316]

8. Don't you feel like we are all taking to a brick wall sometimes??

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. No actually, brick walls are less hard

:banghead:

[WCGreen]

14. No but delaying them makes people ill which is profitable...

[stray cat]

24. so its the doctors and not the virus growing in eggs thats causing delay

and deaths? thats crap

[nadinbrzezinski]

31. Are you familiar with the process? I am

so you are telling me that the reported problems in growing it in eggs are not real.

Okie dokie.

In fact the Hinnie vax will be even less profitable, if they ever were, than the normal one.

[uppityperson]

45. Let me see if I have your "logic" right. Vx makers make BIG money, but they delay the vx

so that people will get sick instead of taking the vx (which makes them sick) because THAT will make them money?

Damned if you do, damned if you don't?

Is that right?

[Control-Z]

29. My kids and I got the vaccine

last week. It was free through our doctor's office.

[Hannah Bell]

47. They're not?

http://www.prlog.org/10356249-optimistic-prospect-of-chinese-h1n1-influenza-vaccine-market.html

Optimistic Prospect of Chinese A (H1N1) Influenza Vaccine Market
It is estimated that purchasing and stockpiling price of A (H1N1) influenza vaccines will be quite low. But the net profit rate will not be lower than common influenza vaccines, which is estimated to be about 60%.


Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB)(Paris:DIM), a leading international supplier for
the pharma and biotech industries, lately received several large orders for
consumables used in biopharmaceutical production from leading global vaccine
manufacturers. They primarily ordered specialty filters, aseptic single-use bags
and other disposables for sterile filtration of pharmaceutical liquids and for
storage and transport of intermediate serum products. These products are high
margin within the SSB`s product array. The orders received and the further ones
expected will likely add more than one percentage point to Sartorius Stedim
Biotech`s annual sales and contribute overproportionately to its profit.

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS97993+02-Jun-2009+BW20090602


http://abcnews.go.com/Business/big-business-swine-flu/story?id=8820642

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1201450/GlaxoSmithKline-accused-profiteering-drug-giant-charges-NHS-6-flu-vaccine-costs-1-make.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601202&sid=aAq1PAeRzxGM

http://www.cashive.com/2009/09/27/associated-industries-to-profit-from-swine-flu-vaccine-discovery/

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/national_world&id=6786340

http://www.moneyweek.com/investment-advice/how-to-stockpile-profits-before-the-flu-pandemic.aspx

CSL vaccine sales lift profit

http://www.silobreaker.com/csl-vaccine-sales-lift-profit-5_2262667609952485389

http://www.complaintsboard.com/news-stories/drug-firms-profit-from-swine-flu-scare.html

[stray cat]

23. Sorry but they are helping you out and not the other way around

it would be easier for them to go with the seasonal flu vaccine and let people die of H1N1 - this is unlikely to be a great money maker for them

[kestrel91316]

6. The flu vaccine is available to anyone at NO CHARGE. It is being

given away. When I pay $25 for it at Walgreen's, I am paying for staff time and training, not one fricking dime for the vaccine itself.

Yes, the US government bought it all on our behalf, but I guarantee you they paid a pittance - enough to cover manufacturing costs and not much more. The feds are skinflints about this stuff. The manufacturers made enough money to make it worth their while, but their big moneymakers AS ANY IDIOT KNOWS are the lifestyle drugs like Viagra and Xanax and cholesterol drugs, etc.

[denem]

15. Maybe I still don't understand America at all,

after all these years. Tinfoil empty balloons.

[sandnsea]

18. H1N1 or seasonal flu?

You really shouldn't be paying anything for H1N1.

[nadinbrzezinski]

41. If you get the H1N1 at Wallgreens you will pay for it

if you get it at a clinic...

well it may range from a deductible for your insurance (training staff and all that) to none, if this is a county clinic or nominal fee.

[denem]

7. Unrec'd. Why? This is most straightword thing I've ever written at DU.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

21. People do it because they can... most of the time I cancel out the UN's

I sometimes wonder why Skinner and the Group didn't just do :thumbsup: :thumbsdown:...

[lapfog_1]

9. Your free to your opinions.

I only wish that the flu was selective enough to only afflict the anti-vax'ers... you and Rush and Beck.

Unfortunately, it isn't.

[tandot]

28. Doesn't look like the OP is an anti-vaxer.

I clicked on it because the title seem to suggest it. However, the text of the post suggests otherwise :)

[seabeyond]

32. wow, that is pretty nasty. and if all the pro vaccers get the vac, then wont flu hit the none

vaccers. you're getting your wish. and are you looking for death for these people?

[lapfog_1]

34. Since it's simply "overblown media hype"

there isn't any danger of death, is there?

[seabeyond]

35. you talking to me? that has nothing to do with my post to you, now does it. oh wait

a good ole repug trick, change argument

so are you also hoping the people that dont get vac die? is that what you are promoting.

you hope they get ill. what kind of person hopes someone ill.

hey i know, .... an ass

there are no vacs in this area yet, and the flu is hitting lots of people. are you jumping up and down with glee?

[denem]

10. Unrec'd more? This is a Faux free account of the situation in Australia.

What's going on here?

[depakid]

11. Anti-Vaccination types and other paranoids think Australia is in the pockets of big pharma

:eyes:

[Forkboy]

12. Mad Vax.

[denem]

27. Best taken with alcohol in a Fringe Catholic Church

while filing for divorce, with a baby on the way.

[uppityperson]

46. Whoah Warrior

[denem]

16. Australia has big pharma by the balls.

Australian Medicare is famous for striking the hardest bargains with Pharmaceutical companies, via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, then switching 80-90% of patients to generics as soon as they meet strict quality guidelines.

[depakid]

17. Even many OTC's are heaps cheaper than in the states

[denem]

26. Lexapro costs me $5.05 in Australia, under the PBS. Unsubsidized it's $48.95.

In the US my co-pay (Aetna) is $50.00. Generic Lexapro has been available in Australia for over a year. In the US the Brand Name doesn't expire until 2012.

Aetna had the nerve to tell me I should use generic Lexapro. What they didn't say is that it is not the same drug - it's Celexa.

Despite a deposition from my Doctor that Lexpro was the drug of choice, the $50.00 co-pay was intended to fine me for not following Aetna's call center experts.

If a single payer Medicare official lies to you in Australia, you can take it up with a wealth of organizations, right up to the local health department, your local representative and even a standing Senate committee.

In the US, I guess you take it up with a lawyer.

[xchrom]

13. ...

'A huge public health program is under way though their single payer Medicare, with barely a dollars profit in sight.


Preventative medicine isn't sexy. The quiet dismay of medical professionals facing misinformed hysteria on all sides doesn't make headlines. '

[denem]

37. ...

[AllentownJake]

19. Here is the problem with America right now

There has been such bad behavior for such a long time, people will believe that something is a hoax designed to steal money from them, even if it isn't, and you can't blame them because they have been lied to for years by their government, big business, and their clergy.

Those in power have been so dishonest, that when an actual threat emerges, the people in power really have a big credibility problem.

[denem]

20. If Fox can sell the slogan 'Fair and Balanced'

I get your point. Lies are sexy, profitable, and paid for in full.

[AllentownJake]

22. Glenn Beck was on TV yesterday

telling people that President Obama plans to whack them, waving a baseball bat and playing clips from the untouchables.

Of course we are recovering from 30 years where the government outright lied to their citizens on about almost every policy being passed.

Than of course you have TV advertisements telling people to ask their doctors about specialized prescription drugs.

Honestly in our current society, can you not see why people believe outright crazy shit?

[denem]

25. 'Can you not see why people believe outright crazy shit'?

Sadly I can. When I'm in Australia, or listening to BBC Radio, the United Sates seems like virtual reality.

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. i get the same experience in Mexico City

and that includes CNN- International or CNN- Spanish...

It is like... CNN is one hologram... and CNN-I is an actual news organization.

[xchrom]

36. people here fan plenty of their own hysteria.

they didn't pay close enough attention to science in science class.

[seabeyond]

33. we still dont have the vac here, h1n1 is all over town, and it is not resulting in the manner

people feared. many people are getting their immunity the old fashion way. vac is too late.

[Better Today]

38. So I should believe your opinion over an actual news article saying otherwise?

It certainly doesn't say it is all a scam, but it does say that it may be the one thing bouying the pharmas.

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-SwineFlu/idUSTRE59M3TZ20091023

[Forkboy]

43. Knowing the press these days, I'd say it's 50/50 as to who to believe.

:)

[Better Today]

48. Oops, double posted response. Self delete

[Better Today]

49. Did you read the article? I'm not sure how actual profit concerns being

remedied by the vaccine/flu (hype or not) is too subjective. Here numbers are numbers. They were at risk for low numbers, now their numbers are substantially rebounding.

On the other hand, I agree with your general premise. It is hard to know what to believe even from reputable sources, which there are very few of and I'm not convinced Reuters is one.

[Hannah Bell]

44. The fact that vaccination is being promoted in other places besides the US is no rebuttal

of the OP heading. Not taking a position, just saying: "Big Pharmacorps" are global companies.