No, it's not this part I find so attention-grabbing:
A plan developed by the Bush administration to deal with any possible outbreak of pandemic flu shows that the United States is woefully unprepared for what could become the worst disaster in the nation's history.
No, it's this part:
On Friday, President Bush invited the leaders of the nation's top six vaccine producers to the White House to cajole them into increasing their domestic vaccine capacity, and the flu plan demonstrates just how monumental a task these companies have before them.
Sure, George, I bet they'd be delighted to sacrifice the vaccine production for their own citizens for the sake of Americans. You can use all that international good will you've built up to make a case. Go for it. Let me know how it turns out.
OOPS, MEA CULPA: Commenter "aweb" is right -- I totally pooched my reading of that paragraph above, interpreting it as "the top six vaccine-producing nations." Ack. I think I was mentally melding that information with what you can read here,
The United States, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and other countries are taking the threat seriously enough to make H5N1 vaccines and stockpile millions of doses of anti-viral drugs.
I'd read that paragraph just above and it was still in the back of my mind. My mistake. See, children? That's why you should never drink and blog. Apologies all around.
7 comments:
Um, CC, that's "leaders of the nation's top six vaccine producers", i.e., the U.S. is the nation in question here. So no problem there; or am I reading it wrong?
The part that strikes me as odd is the "cajoling", i.e "To urge with gentle and repeated appeals". Shouldn't they just be offered money? If money is offered, why is anything else required? He's not suggesting American companies make vaccines for Americans for free is he? To me, it sounds like he might be asking them not to sell to foreign countries as much. Which would fit with the general policy of sacrificing foreign lives...
Aweb, it is strange, at least the way it's worded. Why would he expect big Pharma not to make any money when he doesn't expect his friends to forego their profits - he encourages their profits at the expense of us all (well, us all not-rich folks). But if big Pharma expects to be paid, then one might ask where the money is to come from, since the slaughter in Iraq is eating up 5 billion a month. And your suggestion about not selling as much to foreign nations is, true, an example of sacrificing foreign lives, which is nothing new, but there's another possibility. If the pharms could make more by selling internationally (to nations that are not sacrificing their budgets and citizens to war), I think they would, at the expense of their fellow citizens, which would also mean the possibility of the deaths of their own friends and families. It's an unending series of twists and turns when you have no moral principles. Depends on how much interest in survival they have, I guess.
Hey, if there is one thing of which you can be sure, it is that the friends of family of the rich/powerful will not be going without vaccines if the need arises. Not in the US (or here in Canada either, we're not that different). From other things I've read right now though, it's really the vaccine production capacity which is important, as when/if the flu goes pandemic, it will almost certainly have changed.
I guess this sort of keeps with one of the earlier posts today, about the money flow in the US. They could just take a small bit of the military money, and buy all the vaccine they can find, and a bit of a public health system. But that would deprive the pentagon of their million dollar toys, which are completely useless right now anyway. Unless they start another air campaign against (pick random country here)?
I haven't been following the flu issues, and I think I am glad -- looks like its just one more example of incredible incompetence from the US government. But why would anyone ever expect anything different?
I guess that would make you Canada's Dumbest Wanker, ay?
hey Jinx, that would be "eh?". wanker.
Now, now, don't be too hard on Jinx. In the circles he runs in, he's never seen anyone apologize for screwing up, and it confuses him.
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