Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (523467)	10/26/2009 6:23:49 AM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1583332

We always have multiple flu lines going. Neither the "ordinary" flu nor H1N1 are new - they were known about in the spring. Why can’t a country that developed the atomic bomb (60 years ago) and the polio vaccine (50 years ago) and put a man on the moon (almost 40 years ago) now produce an appropriate vaccine? Because there are no margins in making the flu vaccine. It is not a particularly lucrative enbterprise and its never clear how many vaccines to make so the companies that make it end up eating some of it. You left out the socialized medicine part: The Vaccines for Children Program, for example, was a do-gooder innovation of the Clinton administration (Hillary’s toe in the water for national health care, apparently) that disrupted market forces and dealt a blow to vaccine producers. Established in 1994, it created a single-buyer system for children’s vaccines, making the government by far the largest purchaser of childhood vaccines — at a mandated discount of 50 percent. Try extorting that kind of discount from manufacturers of trucks for the U.S. Postal Service or of Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MREs) for the Department of Defense, and see how long the companies bid on government contracts. You admit the problem is its not lucrative to make vaccines, then you leave out the part where the government sets the price 50% lower than it had been before federal intervention.

To: tejek who wrote (523467)	10/26/2009 10:15:49 AM
From: i-node	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1583332

Because there are no margins in making the flu vaccine. It is not a particularly lucrative enbterprise and its never clear how many vaccines to make so the companies that make it end up eating some of it. So many companies have stopped making the vaccine. This whole issue came up under Bush.....where were you? Actually, the profit margins are fine. The problem is that manufacturers can't adequately forecast demand, so their decision is based on their best guess of what demand might be. Making flu vaccine is a highly risky enterprise. If they price the vaccines that ARE sold high enough to cover the risk premium, they can't sell it because it is too expensive. So many companies have stopped making the vaccine. This whole issue came up under Bush.... So, this is something else you want to blame Bush for? Man, it never ends. What do you think should be done to solve this problem?