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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 US.
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.
Bridget White Dinklage
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