And I'm not quite sure where to assign blame.
Yesterday, I heard that the Brits pulled the license of one of two manufacturers of the 'flu vaccine, and 48 million doses will be destroyed. Obviously, this isn't something our public health officials were planning on when orders were placed this year. But it was very clear last year that the vaccine supply was too low AND infectious disease doctors have been telling me since mid-summer that this year's 'flu season is going to be very bad. I'm pissed off that there are only two manufacturers. I'm pissed off at plaintiffs attorneys that no one wants to make vaccines because of the liability associated with vaccines and so the only company willing to make vaccines is off shore (vulnerable to having its license pulled by the Brits and not overseen by the FDA).
I was planning on getting a 'flu shot this year due to the doom and gloom warnings from the ID docs, but now I'm going to hold off. My great-grandfather died in the 1917 pandemic, and last year's 'flu season was particularly bad. If you have older parents or grandparents, or small children, make sure that they get their vaccines early.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=4072683
(series of NPR stories on the subject)
ETA: I understand the argument that until last year we generally threw vaccine away due to over production, but it was very clear that this year we were going to need at least as much vaccine as we used last year.
