Summary

Original source:
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hspand284021339oct28,0,1065744.story?coll=ny-health-headlines

Details

• For years, the government has failed to prepare adequately for an influenza pandemic and has no concrete plans for distributing scarce vaccine to people at high risk in such an emergency, a federal health care analyst said yesterday.
• Questioning the Bush administration's plans for dealing with a worldwide flu pandemic, Janet Heinrich, director of public health issues for the Government Accountability Office, said GAO advised federal officials four years ago of the need for a nationwide emergency vaccine distribution system.
• The federal government has depended on the states to develop emergency plans to buy and distribute vaccine during a global flu epidemic, Heinrich said.
• "Ahead of the storm, we should be making decisions about who purchases the vaccine, how it's distributed and who the target populations are," Heinrich said.
• Long before the current flu crisis left the United States with half of its expected 2004 vaccine after 48 million doses from the Chiron Corp. were contaminated at a plant in England, Heinrich predicted that a production problem could send flu prevention efforts into a tailspin.
• "I think it's very hard for this administration to make a decision as to whether they're going to use the public or private sector for selling or distributing the vaccine," Heinrich said yesterday.
• However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he couldn't comment on Heinrich's criticism.
• He said NIAID recently contracted with the United States' two flu vaccine providers to produce and test a vaccine based on a strain of avian, or bird, influenza, H5N1, which has the potential to cause a flu pandemic.
• Federal health officials were expected to deliver an update on plans for a pandemic last evening at a meeting at the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
• "In the U.S. we tend to shy away from decisions about who gets to stand in line first," Schoch-Spana said.

Related Articles

Popular Topics: Bush Administration, Pandemic, Flu pandemic, Diabetes, Breast cancer, Prostate cancer, Heart disease, Depression, High cholesterol, Osteoporosis, Vaccines, Autism, ADHD, Infertility, Weight loss, Cancer, Alzheimer's, Trans fats, Acrylamides, Fluoride, Mercury	Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com Email this article to a friend Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/002334.html Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link. <a href = "http://www.NaturalNews.com/002334.html">Bush administration under fire for not preparing for flu epidemic</a>
Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber! Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more. Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.	Your Email Address: Free Subscription Code: Enter the numbers you see: 100% free of charge. Unsubscribe anytime. Absolutely no spam. We respect your email privacy.
Recommended Special Report: Seven Words that can Change the World by Joseph R. Simonetta Read this special report now... "Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com	More on NaturalNews.com: • Streaming Health Ranger Videos • CounterThink Cartoons • FREE Special Reports • Podcasts