Burning Money, Literally, 260 Million Dollars Worth of Vaccines to be Destroyed - Polidicks

[I]via:[/I] Fox News [release][Expired Swine Flu Vaccines to be destroyed] meaning that a whopping 40 million doses worth about $260 million is being written off as trash. "It's a lot, by historical standards," said Jerry Weir, who oversees vaccine research and review for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The outdated vaccine, some of which expired Wednesday, will be incinerated. The amount, more than twice the usual leftovers, likely sets a record. And that's not even all of it. About 30 million more doses will expire later and may go unused, according to one government estimate. If all that vaccine expires, more than 43 percent of the supply for the U.S. public will have gone to waste. Federal officials defended the huge purchase as a necessary risk in the face of a never-before-seen virus. Many health experts had feared the new flu could be the deadly global epidemic they had long warned about, but it ended up killing fewer people than seasonal flu. "Although there were many doses of vaccine that went unused, it was much more appropriate to have been prepared for the worst case scenario than to have had too few doses," said Bill Hall, spokesman for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Most leading health experts generally agree with that. Millions of doses of flu vaccine generally go unused every year and are marked for burning, but in recent years the leftovers amounted to closer to 10 percent of the supply, rather than the 25 percent expiring now. Government flu experts couldn't recall throwing away anything close to 40 million doses before. The new H1N1 swine flu emerged in April last year, hitting children and young adults particularly hard. It was difficult to predict how deadly it might be or how easily it might spread. Federal health officials pushed five vaccine manufacturers to produce a vaccine as quickly as possible. What's more, they wanted a lot of it — many experts thought most people would need two doses for it to work. The government placed three orders last year for a combined total of nearly 200 million doses — an unprecedented amount and almost double the amount of vaccine produced in recent years for seasonal flu. About 162 million doses were meant for the general public. Another 36 million included doses for the military and other countries. But demand never took off, for several reasons: —Tests of the vaccine soon showed only one dose was enough to protect most people. —Much of the vaccine was not ready until late 2009, after the largest wave of swine flu illnesses passed. —Swine flu turned out not to be as deadly as was first feared. About 12,000 deaths have been attributed to it — or roughly a third of the estimated annual deaths from seasonal flu. So while people were waiting hours for swine flu vaccinations in some cities in October and November, by January local health departments were trying gimmicks to get anyone at all to come in for a shot. Government officials have known for months that they were looking at a huge surplus. According to an Associated Press calculation based on federal purchasing information, the dollar value of the 40 million expired doses is about $261 million. The government didn't release an official figure, but Hall said the AP estimate was approximately correct. In Europe, where nations also found themselves with millions of unused doses, some commentators have attacked the World Health Organization, which declared swine flu a global epidemic, or pandemic. The critics have questioned the motivation of some WHO advisers who had links to the pharmaceutical industry. Some critics have simply lamented that a lot of anxiety was raised and money wasted, not just during the swine flu scare but also in government responses to bird flu and SARS, a respiratory virus that swept parts of Asia in 2003. "Each time the so-called experts told us that millions of people would be killed worldwide by the respective viruses. We have learned that the experts were utterly wrong," said Dr. Ulrich Keil, a professor at Germany's prestigious University of Muenster and a WHO adviser. "This behavior is irresponsible because the angst campaigns ... confuse the priority setting in public health," he said. The death toll from influenza epidemics is much smaller than the number killed annually by chronic illnesses like heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes, he added, in an e-mail. Unused flu vaccine is a common problem. The June 30 expiration date is set by the FDA and has less to do with the vaccine's shelf life than the desire to tweak the recipe each year to protect against the three flu strains expected to cause the most illness. "It's not necessarily because it's degraded or not potent," said Dr. Mark Mulligan, an Emory University vaccine researcher. In the past year, about 114 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine were distributed. The government thinks most of that was used — demand was unusually high because of fears about swine flu. In the flu vaccination campaign for this coming fall, swine flu vaccine is being combined with two seasonal strains in single doses. Manufacturers have told the government they expect to make about 170 million doses. An influential government advisory panel this year recommended that virtually all Americans get flu shots each year. Still, that doesn't mean it will all get used. "No doubt there will be unused doses. This happens every time," said Dr. John Treanor, an immunology specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center.[/release] [URL="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/01/ap-impact-million-doses-expired-swine-flu-vaccine-burned-million-lost/"]Source[/URL] [I]Note: Area in brackets subbed in by me as source would not display correctly.[/I]

What a stabbing tragedy

[QUOTE=Amplar;23027134]What a stabbing tragedy[/QUOTE] :v:

lol

Remember when swine flu was a really big deal? That was fun. Anyways, what a bunch of pricks.

obviously this means that swine flu couldn't have possibly have become anything dangerous and if anything like it comes up in the future we should just ignore it until it becomes a pandemic.

[QUOTE=Mr. Scorpio;23027546]obviously this means that swine flu couldn't have possibly have become anything dangerous and if anything like it comes up in the future we should just ignore it until it becomes a pandemic.[/QUOTE] Well, the entire situation was brought upon us by government fear mongering and sensationalist media. Hopefully, if a real pandemic happens, they'll stick us with the facts.

[QUOTE=ExplodingGuy;23027582]Well, the entire situation was brought upon us by government fear mongering and sensationalist media. Hopefully, if a real pandemic happens, they'll stick us with the facts.[/QUOTE] :sigh: thats not the fucking point you insipid cow man. the point is to head this shit off [I]before[/I] it becomes a pandemic. You can't very well do anything after it becomes a pandemic because then it's a fucking pandemic and it's fucking everywhere. What the fuck are facts going to do when you're vomiting up your kidneys.

[QUOTE=Mr. Scorpio;23027546]obviously this means that swine flu couldn't have possibly have become anything dangerous and if anything like it comes up in the future we should just ignore it until it becomes a pandemic.[/QUOTE] It's good that it was prevented, it sucks that we still inevitably spent a lot of money on it.

[QUOTE=wewt!;23027693]It's good that it was prevented, it sucks that we still inevitably spent a lot of money on it.[/QUOTE] Yeah well I'm happy that that fireman saved a puppy from the tree but I'm mourning over the gas lost to operate the ladder.

To be perfectly honest, i'd take the government being overly cautious than not so in the face of potential epidemics. That being said, that's a mind-boggling amount of vaccine going to waste.

I'm only burning my half. [img]http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/joker-burning-money-in-tdk.jpg[/img]

I remember getting eaten up on the inside because of fearing going outside due to the swine flu...

[QUOTE=Mr. Scorpio;23027709]Yeah well I'm happy that that fireman saved a puppy from the tree but I'm mourning over the gas lost to operate the ladder.[/QUOTE] Basically, yeah. If preventive action is successful, then the costs are justified, IMO.

They should've improved them before sending them out. A stitch in time saves nine. ...because, you know, needles. Goddamit

If only I could have one million.

[QUOTE=wewt!;23027908]Basically, yeah. If preventive action is successful, then the costs are justified, IMO.[/QUOTE] Except there wasn't a pandemic to begin with. CDC took bribes. Those involved should be shot for treason.

The swine flu is like any other flu. [img]http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o20/Roflmelon24/indexphp.gif[/img] [editline]04:36PM[/editline] [QUOTE=GunFox;23029627]Except there wasn't a pandemic to begin with. CDC took bribes. Those involved should be shot for treason.[/QUOTE] [img]http://www.facepunch.com/ads/rating/tick.png[/img]

[QUOTE=GunFox;23029627]Except there wasn't a pandemic to begin with. CDC took bribes. Those involved should be shot for treason.[/QUOTE] [Citation Needed] [QUOTE=radioactive;23031665]It was fairly clear that it was just a money making scheme.[/QUOTE] {{Original Research}}

[QUOTE=Xen Tricks;23031068][Citation Needed][/QUOTE] It was fairly clear that it was just a money making scheme.

[QUOTE=GunFox;23029627]Except there wasn't a pandemic to begin with. CDC took bribes. Those involved should be shot for treason.[/QUOTE] making money is not treason.

[QUOTE=ExplodingGuy;23027582]Well, the entire situation was brought upon us by government fear mongering and sensationalist media. Hopefully, if a real pandemic happens, they'll stick us with the facts.[/QUOTE] Yeah, that. As I recall, Swine Flu was supposed to kill 30-40% of the Earth's population...

[QUOTE=Ridge;23032714]Yeah, that. As I recall, Swine Flu was supposed to kill 30-40% of the Earth's population...[/QUOTE] Ok now you're just pulling facts out of your ass. No one ever said that Swine Flu was slated to kill 2+ billion people EDIT: [QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;23032904]The joke is that it's the FLU, you are going to be exposed to it and either you'll get it or you won't- there is jack shit anyone can do about it. A new flu strain cannot be stopped from circulating. All that stupid shit with masks, vaccinations, and so on is worthless(except maybe to old people and kids). Proof- people who didn't do shit suffered no more than people who took every precaution.[/QUOTE] Because vaccines and anti-viral masks do nothing :downs: Oh and while we're using anecdotal evidence: Proof - I get sick with things like sinus infections and other illnesses probably 3-4+ a year. I haven't gotten the flu in around 10 years, and I get a shot every year.

The joke is that it's the FLU, you are going to be exposed to it and either you'll get it or you won't- there is jack shit anyone can do about it. A new flu strain cannot be stopped from circulating. All that stupid shit with masks, vaccinations, and so on is worthless(except maybe to old people and kids). Proof- people who didn't do shit suffered no more than people who took every precaution.

[QUOTE=Foda;23032507]making money is not treason.[/QUOTE] Exploiting your position to make money is treason.

[QUOTE=GunFox;23029627]Except there wasn't a pandemic to begin with. CDC took bribes. Those involved should be shot for treason.[/QUOTE] And what are they going to do with the expired vaccines, gunfox, keep them for there to look pretty?

This isn't burning money, the money hasn't been lost, it's just somewhere else.

[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;23032904]The joke is that it's the FLU, you are going to be exposed to it and either you'll get it or you won't- there is jack shit anyone can do about it. A new flu strain cannot be stopped from circulating. All that stupid shit with masks, vaccinations, and so on is worthless(except maybe to old people and kids). Proof- people who didn't do shit suffered no more than people who took every precaution.[/QUOTE] Because just fuck the whole science of Immunnology, right? None of that shit has any evidence or has ever worked. Remember Polio? Oh wait, you don't, because you were born after vaccines eradicated it from most of the world.

How's that literal?

Why, that is not literally burning money at all.