Americans are still debating whether to roll up their sleeves for a swine flu shot, but companies have already figured it out: vaccines are good for business.
Drug companies have sold $1.5 billion worth of swine flu shots, in addition to the $1 billion for seasonal flu they booked earlier this year. These inoculations are part of a much wider and rapidly growing $20 billion global vaccine market.
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Finally a reporter is covering the profit angle of vaccine production. Vaccine manufacturing is not profitable unless there is a pandemic--or a scare of one--as we are seeing with H1N1. (Reports routinely are omitting how many people have died from regular flu so coverage has seemed sensational, feeding the profit chain.)
As always with pandemic flus, taxpayers are footing the $1.5 billion check for the 250 million swine flu vaccines that the government has ordered so far and will be distributing free to doctors, pharmacies and schools. In addition, Congress has set aside more than $10 billion this year to research flu viruses, monitor H1N1’s progress and educate the public about prevention.
The government keeps printing money with 0% interest from banks asking for more of it. To this add Afghanistan, health care and now, H1N1 scares.
The Obama administration and his health secretary Kathleen Sebelius have been engaged in an advocacy campaign, stating the H1N1 shot has been produced like any other seasonal flu shot. Untrue. Fast and new techniques involve growing the vaccine in insect cells. See link.