Flu "epidemic" another instance of drug companies exploiting Americans?

[anti-bush]

Having watched the news channels for a couple hours, I've begun to wonder if the drug companies are making the latest flu "epidemic" a media sensationalization (similar to the summer of the shark a few years back) in order to manipulate the media and congress into spending even more money on flu vaccines?

Now they're blaming price control on the lack of flu vaccines available! Why do the drug companies continue to make me wary and angry?

[tkmorris]

1. Well they should.

They are crass capitalists who spend enormous amounts of energy seeking ways to transfer money from your pocket to theirs. I happen to think that free-market capitalism is not something that should motivate those who provide health care but hey, that's just me.

In this case though, there may be something to it. Flu cases ARE up in many areas, and earlier than usual too. Of course that doesn't mean that they aren't doing their best Chicken Little impressions to scare everyone but probably not. Especially when you consider the actual profit margins on flu vaccines. There really isn't one, which is of course why there is a shortage.

[PissedOffPollyana]

4. I heard a story the other day...

... about the current flu and the vaccine that the powers that be are pushing. They said that the strain of flu used in the vaccines is different from the one being contracted. Then they advised people to go out and get shots anyway. Isn't this part of why there are so many resistant strains now?

[tkmorris]

12. Cross resistance

You are right, the strains of flu which are occuring are not necessarily the ones the vaccines are made for. There is reason for this; vaccines have to be manufactured so far in advance that those who make them are required to guess which strains to vaccinate for. They are often wrong.

However, a flu vaccination will usually be directed at several strands and will protect to some smaller extent against strands it wasn't specifically designed for. For this reason it is usually advisable to get vaccinated even if they guessed wrong about the strain to vaccinate against.

As to the resistant strains, you have a point. It's a push and pull sort of game, wherein the strains get more resistant and mutate while we try to keep up and invent new vaccines. It just depends on who reacts faster, the virus or humans. It's the nature of the beast and little can be done to change it. So far though I think we're doing ok, flu used to kill millions, now it is mere thousands. Progress abounds.

[mzmolly]

33. Interesting that

flu related deaths have doubled in recent years in spite of vaccination efforts. *though I understand the challenge with flu strains changing from year to year*

Whooping cough is also on the rise, and has been in recent years in spite of heavy vaccination coverage??

I also question the use of the flumist vaccine when it can cause flu in contacts for up to 21 days? The 'science' seems a bit questionable. I wonder indirectly how many people will 'die' as a result of 'flumist' being used? I'm sure we'll never know.

It would be nice if the vaccine made did match the current strain however, heck I might even consider it then ;)

[terrisel]

9. Canadians have enough flu vaccine

How do they manage so efficiently up there? Is it the universal health care system ?

[Megrim]

11. Canada has a tiny population compared with the US

and the flu hasn't spread there as it has in the US, particularly the American west. Anyhow, it may well be that the have a shortage as well, so I don't think socialized medicine is the answer.

[Don Claybrook]

24. So what is the answer?

Are you more a fan of hideously-expensive-if-you-can-even-get-it health care? Do you support a health care system in which many family premiums cost more per month than their mortgage costs? Do you enjoy the cost of health care (and therefore premiums) rising 17, 18, 19 percent per year in freaking perpetuity?

What's wrong with socialized medicine? For that matter, what's wrong with socialism?

[Megrim]

28. My, what a short memory we have

"For that matter, what's wrong with socialism?"

Nothing if you don't mind standing in line three hours just to buy a goddamned loaf of bread. I still remember the former USSR envoy thinking American supermarkets' abundant supply of food was just a ruse our government put on for his benefit when he visited. He couldn't believe how plentiful our stores were. See, in socialism, where you don't reward invidual achievement, nobody has incentive to produce. In capitalism, the better you work to produce, the greatest your rewards. That's what we are the land of plenty, and it is why socialist countries are forever experiencing shortages, unemployment, and just terribly glum economic situations. Why would we want to emulate struggling socialist economies as in Europe when ours is the world's best?

[redqueen]

29. Actually...

I read that most other countries, not just Canada, had anticipated the slow growth of this vaccine, and factored that into their production.

We didn't, so we're screwed.

[tkmorris]

13. Canada is different

They try to provide health care due to need, rather than as a means to profit. For this reason they tend to have what they need as opposed to what will show a profit. It's a good system if ya ask me.

[freeforall]

20. Amen tkmorris!

It is a good system, and we don't waste as much money as the US.

[Knoxville_Bob]

2. Well -

Last year, there was an overage of vaccine, and the companies had to destroy something like 12 million doses of it. So I can see why they would hold back on making as much this year. But hey - I'm a small businessman, I wouldn't want to waste the money either if I didn't have to.

[anti-bush]

3. Hmmm...

The drug companies must have lost money last year.

[Knoxville_Bob]

34. Yep

They lost money last year on the flu immunization - why would they want to lose it again this year?

[letthewindblow]

5. I think

that's all drug companies do. And not only Americans, they exploit people in all countries.

[cigarstore]

6. Man eating sharks with the flu using punch card ballots

Comin' at ya!

[cryofan]

31. hmmm....i did not know sharks got the flu n/t

[cigarstore]

7. No one will ever be safe again from anything at anytime, ever.

If the man eating sharks don't get ya,

SARS will,

if SARS don't get ya,

the killer flu will,

if the killer flu don't get ya,

Howard Dean drunk driving a snowmobile over your ass will.


It's all danger, all the time-WE JUST AREN'T SAFE ANYMORE!! WHAAAAA!!

[anti-bush]

8. We won't be safe

And preying on the public's fear is an excellent tactic. Do we really need all the flu vaccinations? I've never had one, and I seem to be in perfect health.

[Skittles]

15. yeah well

I had the flu once and it nearly killed me

[bicentennial_baby]

21. Perfect health?

That sounds like the 19 year old guy here in MA that just dropped dead from the flu. Yes, it can kill healthy, active people just as well as sick/old people.

[Megrim]

10. I think it' because this flu is more widespread than anybody predicted

and more virulent. In the West, this flu is approaching epidemic propotions according to the CDC. Not everything is a conspiracy by the capitalists.

[coyote]

14. I´m in Europe...and I have not heard one damn thing

about this flu....and I don't know anybody who has it. You guys always seem to get the fun:

terror alerts
SARs scares
flu epidemics
and 24 hour coverage of Michael Jackson and Kobe


I think I need satelite to get American television.

[Loonman]

16. Jesus Christmas......it's not a conspiracy

Drug companies estimate by using past records as to how much flu vaccine they'll need to have on hand per year.

This epidemic surprised everyone.

Not everything is a conspiracy, fer crying out loud.

[Padraig18]

18. Thank you!

Despite your name, you are VERY sane. :)

[SheilaT]

17. Flu mutates constantly

in its natural resevoir, which is ducks and pigs in China, for the most part. It has NOTHING to do with flu vaccines.

Usually they get lucky when they guess which emerging strains they need to make the flu vaccine effective against. This year they got unlucky. Plus, this is an A type flu (there are three major kinds, labelled with some considerable imagination, A, B, and C) and A type flus are always the most virulent. The Spanish flu of 1918-19 was a type A.

One report I heard about the flu vaccine said that the drug companies make the amount of vaccine one year based on how much was used the previous year, and apparently last year not a lot was used.

Every single year sometime in November the word gets out that this is going to be a bad year for flu and everyone should get shots. And every year in this country approximately 36,000 people die from flu complications. The elderly, whose immune systems are declining, and the very young, whose immune systems are not fully developped are most likely to get very ill and to die. If you've had the flu you have an immunity that far surpasses that from the vaccine. The decision to get the vaccine needs to be a personal decision.

Myself, I never get one, I'm 55 years old and in extremely good health. I have allergies which I can treat with OTC medication, but almost never get a cold, and I'm not sure when I last got flu. Probably thirty or more years ago.

The real way to eliminate flu would be to persuade Chinese farmers not to raise ducks and pigs together.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

35. Wow that's amazing information

I never get the flu shot and have rarely had the flu. I take occasional allergy medicines and don't suffer from colds or flus very often.

[Stuckinthebush]

19. No

The epidemiological data are there for everyone to see. It probably is hyped up a little more than is necessary, but that is not drug company PR.

When healthy children die suddenly of this thing, it is a problem.

[RedEarth]

25. I agree....

The pharm companies aren't my favorite people, however, the flu this year is the real deal. Our neighbor is an infectious disease doctor and he mentioned this is the worst outbreak he has seen in OKC in years....a lot of people of all ages very sick.

[freeforall]

22. Silly question...

of course the drug companies are exploiting people!

I'm actually surprised that people still think the government and corporations could have altruistic motives.

Really - why do we need a 'flu vaccine? I wonder if the vaccine doesn't help spread the 'flu somewhat.

[Stuckinthebush]

26. This is how vaccines work...

A dead or weakened form of the virus is injected into the body.
The body sees this virus and begins to develop antibodies designed specifically to kill it.
Since the virus is dead or dying anyway, the body can gang up on it and develop defenses without the virus causing damage.
The body then has these antibodies designed specifically for that virus, so if it sees it later on, it will jump on it.
This means that the virus will have no chance to cause damage.
The antibodies stay around for a long time just waiting for that virus.

There is no way that the flu vaccine can spread the virus. Also, government agencies such as the CDC are created to protect the population from harm, so they are pretty damn reliable when it comes to telling us to watch out for a bug.

Vaccines have been really, really, really beneficial to humankind.

Don't let paranoia get in the way of reason.

[RichardRay]

23. I don't think so

The one sorta big city in Wyoming has now had nearly as many reported cases of the flu as we had in the entire state last year. The state health folks had more vaccine this year then last and it's gone.

No conspiracy here, folks.

[dansolo]

27. I think it has to do with promoting the nasal flu vaccine

They are claiming that the low quantities of flu vaccine are due to the lower demand during the last flu season. But I believe that they decreased the supplies in order to promote the more expensive nasal option. They probably figured that the consumers would be willing to pay a premium to avoid a needle. But people were unwilling (or unable) to pay the higher cost, and so that combined with a more serious flu season has caused the shortage of the flu vaccine shots.

[redqueen]

30. No

I think the media is overplaying it, yes. But they do that even when stories DON'T merit it, so I understand.

However this flu is more virulent and more deadly. I think there is good reason for concern. I can see where alarm bells would go off, given the Kobe Monica Micheal treatment it's getting, but this issue really deserves attention. Not ALL DAY attention, as some cable 'news' network is doing, but they certainly should be warning people to get shots if they can.

[AG78]

32. In a way

The flu is there, always has been, always will be. But drug companies do use that to their advantage to make a profit.

I'm not saying that people with the flu shouldn't be treated. Because they should. But in the bigger picture, the more we all cheat nature, and cheat death, the more it will cost us in the end.

We're all scared to die. We all want to live forever. I saw a report the other day on CBS about some growth drug that was for children(which is weird anyway...if you're supposed to be 5-2, and not 5-11, then just live with being 5-2), but now can be used for older people to feel younger. That's all well and good. But we're supposed to die. We don't naturally live for 70, 80, 90 years. Some people do. But there are exceptions to every rule. Dying is part of existence. There are too many people on this planet. And as great as modern medicine is, it's the reason we have too many people on this planet. And when we can't make modern medicine anymore, what then?