Originally published February 26 2006
CDC admits U.S. system of distributing vaccines is mistake-ridden
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that the system in the United States for distributing flu vaccine is not as effective as it should be.
For the current flu season, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bought about 11.5 million doses -- out of 86 million produced by private manufacturers -- with much of it then resold to state health departments.
''Since we don't own the supply, it's very difficult for us to put our weight behind supporting appropriate distribution," said Julie Gerberding, CDC director, speaking at a major summit on the flu vaccine supply and its distribution.
Next year, manufacturers are likely to produce as many as 120 million shots, company representatives disclosed yesterday at the Atlanta summit.
But doctors and public health authorities voiced continued concern about the patchwork system of public agencies and private doctors, pharmacies, and big-box retailers that now provide flu vaccine.
''God help us if we have a pandemic with a distribution system as disorganized" as the current system, said Don Williamson, state health officer in Alabama.
A detailed tracking system, public health officials and doctors said yesterday, has the potential to ease a persistent supply-demand mismatch that results most years in millions of vaccine doses being squandered.
The CDC is studying such a tracking system, and summit participants are expected to offer recommendations on how a network could be structured.
But Dr. Raymond Strikas, a leading flu vaccine specialist at the agency, acknowledged that further discussions with vaccine makers and distributors are necessary before a registry could be implemented.
Pharmaceutical industry executives have long expressed fears that providing the CDC with too much information might jeopardize their competitive edge.
Flu, and its complications, kills about 36,000 people in the United States each year, mainly the elderly and younger patients whose ability to fight disease was already compromised.
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