October 10, 2004
Sunday

Letter to the Editor:
 
Kerry did not blame President Bush for Florida's hurricanes ... how did that happen!?  Last night he did try to blame the current administration for the flu shot crisis, blaming it somehow on the President "Not being straight with the American People".  He also said that the President should have known in mid-September that there would be a shortage related to the failure of Chiron's manufacturing plant in the UK.  Impossible!
 
First of all, it takes four months to manufacture flu vaccine.  It appears that Chiron. a UK company, revealed the manufacturing problems just a couple of weeks ago and the British government suspended them just last week.  This was a scientific health decision.  There were strange germs in this year's batches of vaccine.  Was it better to destroy vaccine that may have been contaminated and dedicate available supplies to the ill and elderly or to risk the health of million using contaminated medicine?  It is a tough choice but a decision had to be made but not the administration's fault by any means.  The President is a staunch supporter of building up the US capabilities in the vaccine manufacturing area partly as a homeland protection issue.  In this regard he proposed a $100 Million bill to congress to build up our vaccine making capabilities.  He got $50 Million through congress.
 
Lawyers like Senator Kerry but especially trial lawyers like Senator Edwards, Kerry's running mate who make their living suing our healthcare industry are directly responsible for this mess.  They have driven all but a couple of firms out of the vaccine making business and the companies left tend to be outside the US as a defense against get-rich-at-any-cost lawyers like Senator Edwards.  When a person becomes ill or dies for no apparent reason, the medical trial lawyers sue all the drug companies and doctors who have had anything to do with that patient recently.  They hope a sympathetic jury will give a generous settlement .  A juror sentiment like "poor ill person, let the drug company's insurance company pay them", is what they are looking for.  The lawyers get rich, check Senator Edward's recent earnings as an example but doctors, hospitals and vaccine makers go out of business as a result.  Oh, and our medical care costs go through the roof.
 
It is not just Senator Kerry but Democrats generally who are on the side of trial lawyers getting rich at our expense.  Trial lawyers donate to the Democrats who tend to be anti-business in any case.  Democrats then have to vote to support the interests of the trial lawyers, their "special interest friends",  who give them the money they need for political campaigns. 
 
Senator Kerry blaming our President  for the vaccine mess is unfair, unjustified  and shows the level of untruth to which the Senator will go to get elected.  Blaming the hurricanes on the President makes more sense!
 
Mark Neckameyer
Irvine, CA - USA

 

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