HEALTH & SCIENCE

High demand for flu vaccine spawns suspicious suppliers

A brutal flu season in which vaccine demand outpaced supply made flu shots an appealing target for the unscrupulous.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. Jan. 26, 2004.

Last month, when the evening news was full of reports about childhood flu deaths and vaccine shortages, things went a little crazy. People suddenly were desperate for a flu shot.

The Georgia Division of Public Health, like many public health agencies across the country, placed an order for an additional 100,000 doses to meet the fast-growing demand. Similarly, the Florida Dept. of Health placed an order for 500,000. And many people across the country stood in line and waited for a chance to roll up their sleeves.

But what these public health officials and some patients have since learned is there are always individuals and companies willing to manipulate and profit from this kind of panic.

"It is really unfortunate that in a time where there's a high demand for a product like a vaccine that people can be tempted to take advantage of that demand and engage in some unscrupulous activities," said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH.

For instance, the extra doses the state of Georgia purchased never existed. The companies involved are being investigated by various law enforcement agencies, although the state has recovered all of its money.

"We've never had an experience where what we paid for didn't exist," said division spokesman Richard Quartarone. "We had the lot numbers and photographs of vaccine. The manufacturing checked out. Everything looked legitimate."

Meanwhile, the doses offered to the state of Florida did exist but were not licensed for use in the United States.

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