The Flu Vaccine

[sabr190 0]

Be sure to read the last line.

How the vaccine works:
Influenza vaccine is produced by growing the virus in eggs. The virus is killed and processed to create the vaccine, which is given by injection under the skin. The body then produces antibodies to the virus over the next two to four weeks. If the immunized person then comes into contact with the influenza virus, the antibodies attack and kill the virus before it has a chance to cause infection. The vaccine contains the 3 most likely strains to be active during the "flu season" Why the shortage:Almost half of the nation's flu vaccine will not be delivered this year. Chiron, a major manufacturer of flu vaccine, will not be distributing any influenza vaccine this flu season. Chiron was to make 46-48 million doses vaccine for the United States. Chiron is a British company. Recently British health officials stopped Chiron from distributing and making the vaccine when inspectors found unsanitary conditions in the labs. Some lots of the vaccine were recalled and destroyed. Why is our vaccine made in the UK and not the US? The major pharmaceutical companies in the US provided almost 90% of the nations flu vaccine at one time. They did this despite a very low profit margin for the product. Basically, they were doing us a favor. In the late 80's a man from North Carolina who had received the vaccine got the flu. The strain he caught was one of the strains in that years vaccine made by a US company. What did he do? He sued and he won. He was awarded almost $5 million! After that case was appealed and lost, most US pharmaceutical companies stopped making the vaccine. The liability out weighed the profit margin. Since UK and Canadian laws prohibit such frivolous law suits UK and Canadian companies began selling the vaccine in the U.S. By the way...the lawyer that represented the man in the flu shot law suit was a young ambulance chaser by the name of John Edwards.


So, is this true or just another e-mail farse?

"The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few, or the one" - rehmwa

[wmw999 2,588]

Ah, the deceptive inbasket.

Snopes says it's false.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Jimbo 0]

Tuna, this one's for you.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/flushot.asp

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[Rebecca 0]

It's a farce. Chiron is a US co., and the only other co. that manufactures a flu vaccine is French. Furthermore, US co.s did not get out of the flu vaccine biz because of any lawsuit, it was for other reasons listed on Snopes. J. Edwards does not seem to have been involved in any of the 7 successful litigations against flu vaccine manufacturers.

you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' -- well do you, punk?

[PhillyKev 0]

And even if it were true, what better way to stop a lawyer from suing people than to put him in office?

I say, vote Kerry to stop Edwards from litigating!!! He's obviously the most tenacious and destructive litigator to ever exist according to the GOP!

[kallend 2,148]

Quote

It's a farce. Chiron is a US co., and the only other co. that manufactures a flu vaccine is French. Furthermore, US co.s did not get out of the flu vaccine biz because of any lawsuit, it was for other reasons listed on Snopes. J. Edwards does not seem to have been involved in any of the 7 successful litigations against flu vaccine manufacturers.

Correction - "the only other company that manufactures a flu vaccine for the US market is........"

The US is the ONLY country with a serious shortage right now, on account of the way the US Government put all its eggs in one basket (pun intended) with regards to placing orders with vaccine suppliers. This is a government SNAFU in the USA, not a world crisis.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[tigra 0]

Additionally, IMO, if they hadn't gone to such lengths over the last few years to convince ALL Americans that we NEED the vaccine, maybe, just maybe, even with the shortage there would be enough for the people who really do. (But instead healthy young adults who work for the government are getting the shots instead of our senior citizens!)