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View Full Version : A sign that the US health-care system is broken


ceejay
10-18-2004, 02:35 PM
We had only two makers of flu shots (one of which was, of course, shut down), but we have three diffierent manufacturers of erectile dysfunction drugs.

ljb
10-18-2004, 02:46 PM
Yes, and profits are rising. ;)

Equineer
10-18-2004, 03:23 PM
According to our CDC, flu-related deaths average 50,000 per year when America has an ample vaccine supply.

That number will rise as a result of the shortage. Some "guessimates" are pretty high.

Chiron failed completely and may leave the business. If the French company flounders next year or leaves the business, the situation will get much worse.

A new vaccine must be developed each year because the mix of flu virus variants keeps changing. We are lucky in years when most flu variants produce mild cases. However, a really virulent strain of the virus could emerge in any year, and would take a huge toll if there is a vaccine shortage or none at all.

Something has to be done... otherwise we can only assume that this is really how our Washington politicians intend to fix Social Security... by depleting the population of recipients.