There must be a lot of money to be made from vaccinations. One billion doses at $300 average for a really virulent fatal disease = $300 billion revenue, less production cost = big profits.
If sars was rampant, I'd pay many $$thousands to be immune to avoid a 1:10 risk of mortality and a greater chance of serious damage.
I've often been suspicious that companies supplying computer anti-virus software need to have lots of viruses on the rampage to keep people in fear and shopping. It must be tempting to commission viruses. Why bother creating a virus unless there's some reward. As for a graffiti vandal, there is some reward in being infamous. But cash payments would be more incentive.
Perhaps bioterrorism will result not from political intentions such as Islamic Jihad, Zionism, Communism or American Freedom, but from people creating superbugs which can only be fought by buying a vaccine.
For example, I could buy shares in a company which is working on sars vaccines, then do some private DNA manipulations on sars bugs which would keep the public in fear and buying the company's vaccines. Sure, I'd carry the risk of being caught, but my shares would zoom. Others owning the shares would get a free ride, but that can't be helped.
It's called symbiosis - two species working together.
A company with a patented smallpox vaccine would no doubt enjoy the profits if there was a smallpox outbreak. I've already bought a smallpox vaccine, which is hopefully still active. I had a tuberculosis vaccine too [so they told me anyway] when I was about 5 and a test at high school confirmed my immunity [they gave some other vaccine and mine showed no inflammation].
Mqurice |
