Kerry blames flu vaccine shortage on Bush
As public health officials scramble to find more flu vaccine and experts debate how to increase the US supply, presidential candidate John Kerry hopes voters will come to one conclusion – the severe shortage the United States now faces is President George Bush’s fault.
Over the past several days, the vaccine shortage has been injected squarely into the presidential race, as Bush defends his administration and Kerry tries to hold him responsible for the loss of nearly 50 million doses of vaccine - half this season’s expected supply.
Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, released a radio advertisement yesterday stoking fears over the shortage as congressional Democrats blamed Bush for not addressing well-documented problems in the vaccine industry.
Bush responded in Florida, telling voters he knew they were worried. Administration health officials trumpeted news yesterday that an additional 2.6 million doses of vaccine would soon be available.
“If you’re an elderly man or woman, if you’re a young child, if you’re a pregnant woman, George Bush and the Republicans have this to say on health care: Don’t get sick,” says Kerry’s ad, which followed a similar spot for TV that has yet to be broadcast.
Bush tried to reassure. “We have millions of vaccine doses on hand for the most vulnerable Americans, and millions more will be shipped in the coming weeks,” he said in St Petersburg, Florida, a state heavy with senior citizens vulnerable to the sometimes deadly virus.
Each candidate worked to integrate his message into the broader themes of his campaign. For Kerry, this is another example of Bush’s incompetence: first the war in Iraq, now flu shots at home.
For Bush, the blame goes to runaway verdicts. He argues that more manufacturers would be in the vaccine business if they didn’t have to worry about lawsuits from people who have adverse reactions to inoculations.
Health officials, who typically try to stay above the political fray, found themselves dragged into its vortex.
“I’m sorry that this is becoming a political issue,” said Dr Julie Gerberding, director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. “This is a health issue.”
The vaccine shortage became public two weeks ago, when British regulators cited contamination problems in closing one of two companies that make vaccine for the US market.
That nearly cut in half the 100 million doses US officials were expecting. Healthy Americans were urged to forgo shots so there would be enough for those at highest risk of influenza.
Each year, 200,000 Americans are hospitalised with flu and 36,000 die.
Neutral observers doubt the issue will be a deciding factor for many voters, but they note that it’s possible in an election this close.
“It could influence a handful of voters,” said John Green, director of the University of Akron’s Ray Bliss Institute for Applied Politics in Ohio, where even a handful of voters could make a difference.
Green noted that Bush is lucky for one thing, flu season hasn’t hit yet, and he does not have to contend with news of babies and the elderly dying of the illness.
“If you can’t get flu vaccines to Americans, what kind of healthcare programme are you running?” Kerry said. “It’s a serious demonstration of the failure of leadership.”
The administration aggressively defended its actions, sending health officials onto TV to reassure the public. Some also went on the attack.
“John Kerry has done nothing in 20 years to help the problem. In fact, he’s exacerbated it,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.
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