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NEWS > HEALTH > H1N1 VACCINE INDUSTRY HIT HARD AS INTEREST WANES
H1N1 VACCINE INDUSTRY HIT HARD AS INTEREST WANES
December 19 2009
Washington, D.C. – No matter how many times it happens, it’s always shocking to those involved when popularity vanishes. Movie and music stars, cultural events, the must-have toy always have a big comedown after the initial romance that makes them
so compelling. Often it is that very affection that creates such disappointment when things start to fall apart, leaving the survivors with fond memories and disappointment for times that will never return again.
Such is the case for H1N1, the flu virus that so captured the imagination of the entire world earlier this year. That initial outbreak, coupled with palpable fears of infection and images of people dressed in surgical masks, was all the rage just a few short months ago. As the disease spread and media attention started to explode it seemed as though the virus might very well be the undoing of everything man has accomplished since our ancestors first learned to stand upright and use tools. Dire warnings from medical officials had assured us that as the flu season encroached the virus would only get worse, spreading death and chaos with them. That has of course not happened and as the interest directed towards the disease wanes, so too does the fortunes of people who built small fortunes based on its presence.
“We have all kinds of vaccine available but no one showing up for shots. I honestly never thought this would happen. A couple of months ago there were lines up and down the block and we were all getting hand cramps from giving shots, but now there’s an echo in here. It really sucks,” said healthcare worker Narise Andrews. “We were all complaining about how busy it was, how we were going for hours without food but now that we don’t have really anyone coming by it just sucks. We’re all worried about our jobs too. It’s the holidays and all of us have a lot of bills to pay off. We need more people coming to the clinic, we need more work.”
Health officials and drug companies have been blitzing the airwaves and websites with warnings about the virus but top largely no avail as many vaccines simply sit collecting dust.
“We work on a state-by-state and county-by-county basis. In some cases, we’re sitting and waiting for the vaccine. In other cases, the (municipal) government came to us early on and asked us to be part of the supply chain so that the vaccine could be distributed as efficiently as possible. We would like to be able to receive and offer vaccine in all 50 states and it is becoming more widely available as time goes on,” said Walgreens spokesman Jim Cohn. “There’s so much of it just lying around now and we are really worried that it will start to go bad. If the demand suddenly picks up after the holidays then we could be in real trouble. We are actively encouraging everyone to come in and get their shots.”
It’s estimated that there are at least 66 million doses of the vaccine currently available, most of it being unused.
“This is a lot more serious than people realize. A lot of drug companies built their 
financial projections based on the likelihood of a massive outbreak , numbers which are now at risk. That will affect stock prices and available liquidity to develop other medications and vaccines. That could be the greatest damage H1N1 causes,” said Scrape TV Health analyst Rebecca Phelps. “I mean it’s great that people aren’t dying from the disease but the finances are a very important consideration in this. Hopefully a new disease will come along soon or this one will mutate quickly, that would really help a lot of people’s bottom lines.”
The CDC is reportedly planning a new advertising campaign in the New Year.
Lauren Hebert, Health Correspondent
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