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Biotech / Medical : SARS and Avian Flu -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Amy J who wrote (2762)	10/17/2005 3:16:29 AM
From: Elroy Jetson	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 4232

You can pay $20 for your annual flu vaccination at many locations, but only a small percentage of the population are interested. Some drug stores give the flu vaccinations away as a promotional item. I've obtained a anuual flu vaccination, except for a couple of years. I wonder if you have? The simple fact is that there's very little demand for antiviral drugs or vaccines during normal flu seasons. You are a perfect example of this. Most Japanese homes have Tamiflu in their home medicine cabinets, to use in case someone in their family contracts the flu. I know you don't have Tamiflu in your medicine cabinet and have never had Tamiflu in your medicine cabinet. Yet you imagine people like yourself would pay "subscriptions" to have access to vaccinations and Tamiflu. You have long been able to use the "free market" to buy Tamiflu but you haven't taken advantage of this right to buy a "subscription". You are an example of the problem. Now that there is a possibility of a pandemic -- only now are you interested in buying Tamiflu and wonder why you can't obtain a vaccination against H5N1. You cannot create an assured supply of antiviral drugs and vaccines based on the periodic once-in-thirty-year interest of people like yourself. This is why the national governments of the world and the WHO have needed to subsidize demand with annual orders and even periodic capital infusions the upgrade the infrastructure, especially for vaccine production. Governments guarantee drug companies a small profit on this business, but the margins far below the margins on their other products. I don't like the people at many drug companies, but the simple truth is they see this business as a nuisance and a charitable act on their part. I can't disagree, because most customers are like you -- they talk about how this is a priority, but their spending habits don't reflect this. .