U.S. Will Donate Part of H1N1 Vaccine Supply to Foreign Nations Before Meeting This Nation’s Demand

CNSNEWS.COM ^ | Thursday, October 22, 2009 | Chris Neefus

[FreeKeys]

Sebelius Says U.S. Will Donate Part of H1N1 Vaccine Supply to Foreign Nations Before Meeting This Nation’s Demand
Thursday, October 22, 2009
By Chris Neefus
 
  

.......		Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) asked Health and Human Service  Secretary Kathleen Sebilius why the United States should  get vaccinations ahead of people in other countries, including  those in countries that are producing the vaccine for the  United States. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr) When Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) had his turn to question  Sebelus, he raised the issue of whether the United States was  "entitled" to the vaccine more than other nations. "Why should  we be more entitled, the U.S. be more   entitled to that vaccine  than some other country in the world?" .....

(CNSNews.com) – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CNSNews.com Wednesday that one in 10 doses of the swine-flu vaccine purchased by the U.S. will be donated to other nations before the U.S. demand for the vaccine is filled.

Sebelius also told a Senate committee that vaccine production is well behind demand.

“What we said is once we have 40 million doses (of the vaccine), the donation can start,” Sebelius told CNSNews.com. “There’s an agreement (of) 10 percent donation that 11 nations have made,” she said.

HHS has ordered about 250 million doses of the vaccine, so the donation would begin after the U.S. received just 16 percent of its original order.

Sebelius made the remarks at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on the government's preparations for dealing with the H1N1 flu virus outbreak. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also provided testimony at the hearing.

The nation’s top health bureaucrat said the government would still donate to foreign nations part of the stock of vaccine purchased by the U.S. government despite delays in getting the vaccine to American citizens, which she said puts the nation “at the point where demand is ahead of the yield.”

“We will do our best to ramp up the production and continue to push it out the door,” Sebelius said.  Sebelius responded: "Well, I think the balance is difficult. The president clearly has made it clear that his priority is safety and security of the  American people, and immediately he also adds that we're a global partner. So we have joined now with 11 nations in terms of 10 percent of the
vaccine will be made available to developing countries."

Sebelius said that Congress had “wisely” included funds in the last supplemental appropriations bill to allow HHS to place large orders of the vaccine well in advance.

“The orders are filled in priority terms, so we are really at the front of the line with some of these (manufacturers) in terms of getting the vaccine as it is produced,” she added.

“The orders are filled in priority terms, so we are really at the front of the line with some of these (manufacturers) in terms of getting the vaccine as it is produced,” she added.

When speaking with CNSNews.com after the hearing, Sebelius also emphasized the needs of developing countries. 

		.....
.....		Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen  Sebelius (Photo by Penny Starr/CNSNews.com)  .....

Asked whether Americans should be prioritized over foreigners with the stockpile of H1N1 vaccine that HHS has ordered using taxpayer funds, Sebelius said: “Well, I think that we are trying to do both things simultaneously--participating is part of our partnership with 11 other countries in terms of donating to developing countries.”

“There’s an agreement (on) 10 percent donation that 11 nations have made, at the same time trying to get the vaccine out to Americans," said Sebelius. "What we said is once we have 40 million doses, the donation can start.”

Referring to the production delay for the vaccine, Sebelius told CNSNews.com: “We had hoped that that would be a little earlier, but we are working with these 11 nations through the World Health Organization (WHO) to help get the vaccines to countries particularly who can't purchase them. I mean, that’s really the issue is the countries who don’t have the wherewithal to purchase vaccines. We need to make available some of the vaccine that is available to the developed nations.”

When CNSNews.com tried to clarify whether the donation would happen once the delay in production was over and all of the U.S. demand had been met, Sebelius said that was not the case.

“Well, no," she said. "Forty million doses was the initial benchmark and so once that is in this country, then 10 percent of the (doses are donated), and we’ll make up the rest. That’s what the other nations are doing too--England, New Zealand, and Australia and Germany and Spain are all participating in this kind of global effort.”

HHS has ordered about 250 million doses of swine flu vaccine, both in injection and nasal mist forms, which they expect to administer through the spring. The U.S. population is about 307 million.

[healy61]

Count me in. “They” can have our share from our home. That is two more.

[hattend]

Exactly. H1N1 is Obama’s Katrina

But you’ll never hear about it.

[dominic housatonic62]

Cyborg; just had it’s chip installed.

[smedley64]

"...And of course the issue of declaring a national emergency only to give away supposed live-saving vaccines...WTH?"

Obama is The Chaos President. He's been doing this kind of crap since the day he took the oath. Everything about this flake seems to be born under the banner of random chaos. He constantly says one thing and does another. He's either insane, really stupid, or crazy like a fox. I don't know what his end game is, but he seems to revel in constant controversy and division, all while looking like a lunatic to anyone who doesn't have their head buried up BO's butt.

[DilJective]

medicinal equity? We should continue right on down the communist path by giving away snotty, college-age children to all those other “needy” countries. Perhaps we could convince the liberals to get more education in some of those other countries in the ways of “forced equity”...

[bronxville]

What happened her eye or is it a photoshop?

[GloriaJane]

President Bush would have been crucified if anyone in his administration had done this.

The dems tore him apart when they just thought a flue vaccine might be late. But obama get’s a pass on everything. They should all be ashamed of themselves, hypocrites all.

[Revel]

The more they give away then the less chance they will be trying to force me to take it.

[americanophile]

...take it out of the Federal Employees supply first - starting with executive branch officers. My God.

[nutmeg]

Since neither my husband nor I plan to get the H1N1 vaccine (or the seasonal flu shot), they can have ours...

[The Comedian]

This is the Obama Coup attempting to buy good will in as many foreign countries as possible.

They don't know which country will accept their urgent pleas for asylum, and they know it isn't long now until the first WH official is frog marched out under armed guard.

I bet the US doesn't donate any vaccine to Poland or Czechoslovakia.

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[GloriaJane]

My husband tried to get the shot for me because I’ve got asthma, emphysema and lost 1/4th of my left lung to lung cancer back in 2006. He tried but he couldn’t find any place that could give me the shot. Our Dr. doesn’t have it and the Madison county health center was only giving it to pregnant women and health care givers.

I had the flue back in August and ended up in the hospital. They did blood tests, x-rays and told me I had the flue but never told me if it was the regular flue or the H1N1.

I thought it would be on the paper they gave me when they sent me home but it wasn’t. So I went out and got the regular flue shot as soon as it was available.

It would suck if I end up getting the opposite flue from the one I already had LOL! Sometimes you just can’t win LOL!

[john in springfield]

Unbelievable. Call a national emergency on Friday and then on Saturday announce that we will start giving out vaccine to other countries before our own need is met.

[DoughtyOne]

1. Obama and company, all government health agencies play up the idea of a pandemic
2. Obama and company set up all sorts of emergency plans because of the H1N1 threat
3. Obama declares a national emergency
4. Obama’s stooges announce we’re going to send vaccine overseas even before our people are taken care of

Is this guy trying to alienate every U.S. Citizen, or is he just dumber than a fence post?

This is like text book political hit yourself in the face with a shovel.

[olivia3boys]

I agree—I finally got the H1N1 vaccine for my kids last Thurs after lots of persistent phone calls to the 9 offices of my kids’ medical group—at one point I was given an appt but then was cancelled after they ran out; at another point I was going to travel an hour away for the shots; at no point was my youngest kid told to go “first” (she’s under 4, a higher priority group); and at no point has anyone told me that two of my kids (under 9) need to come back in 3 weeks for a second dose, which the CDC is still saying they do need to do.

[GloriaJane]

He’s dumber then a fence post! LOL!

[itssme]

Get a copy of your medical records from the hospital including all test results. I always request a copy of every test my doctor orders from his office, and I always get a copy of my records from any hospital inpatient or outpatient admission or treatment. Your diagnosis among other vital information is contained in these records.

[AliVeritas]

Psst.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2370339/posts?page=1

[GloriaJane]

Yep, you’re right, that’s what I should do Monday.

[KTM rider]

Maybe we can donate Obama to the turd world too, and outsource his Holiness to the goodliness of all mankind