Reply #20: There always seems to be a Tamiflu shortage

[Dogmudgeon]

It's not exactly something that can be made in a kitchen, but it is wholly synthetic, so it is synthesized, not cultured, as vaccines are. In every flu and viral scare since it was introduced, it has been in short supply, and that has only increased its price. The government did, indeed, stockpile Tamiflu, on at least two occasions. Although it "keeps" much longer than vaccines, it still has a limited shelf life, though I suppose emergency stocks could be kept much longer in liquid nitrogen.

The good news is that 2009 Swine H1N1 is an unexpectedly mild influenza. The bad news is that it's still influenza, which will still kill, and it's unexpectedly hard on children. Tamiflu and vaccines should be first reserved for children -- then the elderly and infirm, then the general population. However, there is no official or even semi-official triage policy in place, except (here and there) for organ donations. Since viral infections seem to be getting more diverse and widespread, this should be brought to the attention of the Surgeon General ASAP.

Public Health is a relatively new thing, and the wet t-bag crowd thinks the Gummint is going to use it to kill everybody they don't like. This, then, is the best time to get the problem sorted out. But with so many problems taking precedence, that's not real likely.

--d!