Angry Reactions to Flu Vaccine Shortage

Re “2.6 Million Extra Flu Shots Found,” Oct. 20: What’s this? After criticizing consumers for wanting to buy cheaper drugs from abroad, Tommy G. Thompson, the secretary of Health and Human Services, finds 2.6 million doses of the flu vaccine from Aventis Pasteur, a French company. The sky must be falling, and then to top it off they actually supplied 55 million flu shots this year. Won’t people be dropping dead? This administration has led the fight against imported drugs with its scare propaganda. And finally, Thompson is even negotiating with ID Biomedical Corp. of Canada. If the people vote for this lying administration they deserve what they get.

Stan Gordon

Canoga Park

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It is absurd that as we have a national call for holding back flu shots to only those most in need, and that in some states physicians are threatened with prosecution for distributing flu shots to those not in high-risk categories, we have the Capitol attending physician distributing shots to members of Congress and their staffs (Oct. 20).

This doesn’t only look bad, it is bad -- it is unconscionable. I intend to show this article to my patients so that they can take it with them when they vote.

Marcy

Zwelling-Aamot MD

Los Alamitos

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It seems clear to me that supplying flu vaccine for the U.S. population should be in the hands of the government. The government is spending millions of dollars stockpiling vaccines to treat victims of biological attacks not knowing if, or when, such attacks might occur. However we do know, with certainty, that every year come November or December, we will be attacked by biological agents, namely the influenza viruses, which regularly kill about 35,000 people in this country.

The government should take over the flu vaccine program and qualify multiple sources of supply.

Howard Mandelstam

Encino

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I’m astounded that the government can OK ordering flu vaccine from England, but we can’t order drugs from Canada. Luckily I got my flu shot this week at my doctor’s office. I’m 75 and have an incurable lung disease. My husband is 78 and is healthy, so if he takes President Bush’s advice, he won’t get one. Neither of us has believed the Bush administration’s PR since it started spinning everything after 9/11.

I can only hope that experts’ advice to “wash your hands when you return from errands” will work and not too many people will get the flu this year.

Jo Cooper

Pasadena