Taken from CVS Web site 12/29/2009:
CVS/pharmacy is actively working with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as well as state health departments to participate as a provider of the H1N1 vaccine. All flu vaccination schedules are subject to vaccine availability. In the event of a vaccine shortage or distribution delay, we may limit the vaccine to those persons in designated priority groups, based on direction from the CDC.
3 comments:
From the WSJ, 12/29/09:
"Right now there's probably more supply than demand," Troyen A. Brennan, chief medical officer at drugstore chain CVS-Caremark, told the WSJ this morning. CVS is offer the swine-flu vaccinations in 23 states, while Rite-Aid has them in 30 states and Wal-Mart in 48 states. Walgreens, the No. 1 pharmacy chain by number of stores, will have them available in 49 states by the year end, the WSJ says.
So, there's no shortage of either H1N1 vacccines nor examples of government incompetence and waste.
Most free market economists will accept that the spread of certain communicable diseases is an externality. Hence it's probably not the best example to use for attacking government policy.
I am sure that there is plenty of supply, but why not in New York City, the most populous city in the United States?
My points hold:
1) Government has no business as a supply middleman.
2) It's doing a lousy job.
Laurel
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/new_york_state/100108-Unused-Flu-Vaccine
"Truckloads of unusued swine flu vaccines are being returned," Fox reports.
You can use this to legitimately support the proposition that government has no business as a supply middleman and it's doing a lousy job, but ironically it's for diametrically opposite reasons!
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