The Great Flu Scam of 2003 - How flu vaccine makers' profits were boosted

[carols]

This is from our local progressive weekly newspaper...it would seem that the CDC is vulnerable to manipulation by Big Pharma. It is something to keep in mind when they trot so-called objective sources to tell us the sky is falling. When you are dealing with ANY government agency - no matter how objective they are supposed to be - we need to remember that ultimately, they aren't the ones running the show.

Excerpt...
By the fall of 2003, a couple of consecutive mild flu seasons, paper-thin profit margins, and declining vaccination rates had taken their toll. In less than two years, the number of flu vaccine manufacturers in the market had dropped from five to three. The pressure mounted on the CDC to ensure a profitable flu vaccination season by "expanding" the vaccine market. By that, corporate leaders meant that they wanted the CDC to recommend vaccination for young, healthy people, people for whom the CDC didn't recommend a vaccine -- until this year. People who, it could be argued, don't need a flu shot.

The three pharmaceutical manufacturers in the flu vaccine business, all of whom successfully market other drugs, made it clear that if the government failed to find enough arms and noses for their vaccines, they might reduce supply or exit the business, leaving the public vulnerable to a true vaccine shortage.

Drug company executives aren't exactly shy about the issue.

"Raising demand is key to raising supply," Howard Pien, president of Chiron Corporation, told the House Government Reform Committee this month. James Young, president of research and development at MedImmune, Inc., which makes FluMist and other flu vaccines, even went so far as to tell the same government officials that if the CDC would recommend universal vaccination, vaccine manufacturers might then be willing to guarantee that there would be enough flu vaccine to meet routine demand on an annual basis.
More...

[Athame]

1. Sick! eom

[RememberWellstone]

2. Corporate dogs attack again.

We should have known when they first came out with the bogus "predictions". This infuriates me to no end. They hire their own doctors to get results, amazing. They suck.

[amazona]

3. nice follow-up

When I went to the clinic in November, my doctor told me that flu had not come to south Louisiana and it was up to me if I wanted to get a flu shot but she sure wasn't recommending it. When a (much wealthier) friend went to the same clinic, he was sold an unnecessary flu shots and lots of other extra innoculations to boot.

The flu never did come to south Louisiana for 2003-04.

I was angered at the time by flu hysteria being used to sell unnecessary medicines to healthy middle-aged people and posted to that effect at the time but felt a bit overwhelmed by the Spanish flu/superflu hysteria.

[Kimber Scott]

4. I remember saying this when it was happening!

I thought I was just getting too paranoid, but I remember having a conversation with my father about this. I said, if you listen to the news closely, they will tell you the number of flu deaths this season is within the "normal" range, but on the other hand they are trying to scare everybody into thinking they will die, if they don't get a shot.

God, I'm starting to scare myself!

[frylock]

5. kick for the chicken littles on this very board..

who insisted that EVERYONE must get a flu shot or they would destroy civilization as we know it.

[corporatewhore]

6. i am thankfulbig pharma only makes up fake diseases and threats instead of

atually releasing diseases so we buy their products

[Lindsay]

7. Sheesh, corporatewhore,

don't give 'em any more ideas! ;-)

[carols]

8. LOL - Good point!

:-)
Carol