Vaccines

Twenty years ago, there were four vaccines for kids. The cost was $100 or less for all of them, and the schedule was straightforward. Now there are 12--soon to be 13 with the newly recommended HPV vaccine for girls--and the costs have skyrocketed to $1,250. While insurance generally covers vaccines, the poor and uninsured are worrying disease-control experts, who fear that government coverage can't keep up. And diseases like mumps and whooping cough have been breaking out even among the …

It looks as though there will be no repeat of the flu vaccine shortages of the past few years. Vaccine makers say they are on track to produce at least 100 million doses of flu vaccine in time for next year's flu season. That's far better than the 86 million doses that producers managed for the 2005-2006 season. The estimates came as vaccine manufacturers, public health officials and influenza experts met in Chicago for the National Influenza Vaccine Summit. Officials say they want to …

Flu season is pretty much over, the CDC said this week. Overall flu and pneumonia deaths this year were far below an average year. Officials say that's partly because this year's season was a mild one but also because the vaccines on the market did a better job than usual. The CDC reports active influenza in less than half of the states. There was less positive news in the fine print. Authorities say this year's Type A virus is resistant to both rimantadine and amantadine. Also of …

In a separate vote, Congress approved $3.78 billion in funding to prepare for possible avian flu pandemic, about half of what the Bush administration had requested. The money is scheduled for new vaccines, antiviral drugs, training for healthcare workers and surveillance programs intended to stop a possible outbreak of the disease.

Controversial language in the appropriations bill grants pharma, biotech and medical device companies full immunity from lawsuits in the event of a …

Legislation that would move billions of dollars into the research and development of new vaccines designed to offer protection from the avian flu and other pandemic threats is being blocked in Congress by a group representing trial lawyers. The American Trial Lawyers Association opposes language in the bill that would grant legal protections to companies involved in vaccine production. Article

The Department of Health and Human Services released details of the federal plan to respond to a possible H5N1 epidemic, following yesterday's announcement by President Bush that his administration plans to spend $7.1 billion preparing to fight the disease. In the event of an outbreak, authorities are likely to impose travel restrictions. State and local officials are reportedly "concerned" that they will be responsible for rationing vaccines and flu medicines and also for ensuring that …

The White House is expected to release the latest version of its plan to combat a possible H5N1 pandemic on Tuesday. President Bush will announce details of the government strategy at a press conference at the National Institutes of Health. The new strategy is said to emphasize early detection and a decentralized response plan in which local and state governments will be expected to play a key role. The administration is also expected to warn that a pandemic could last much longer than …

The Department of Health and Human Services is expected to release new details of the administration's plans to respond to the threat of an H5N1 epidemic. HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt returned from a fact-finding trip to Asia on Friday alarmed by the facts that he found. All signs point to a containment strategy, with officials hoping to catch any outbreak on the ground in Asia before it spreads by encouraging local governments to increase transparency and step up efforts to inoculate local …

Over the weekend, with the bird flu threat getting major media play, details of the government's plan for coping with a pandemic were emerging. Officials said they expect local agencies to take the lead in the event of an outbreak. Less stress is placed on military involvement than critics had feared. The Department of Health and Human Services said it thinks a major outbreak could kill as many as 1.9 million Americans and affect about half the population. Anxiety was heightened by …

How effective would the army be at stopping an avian flu pandemic? Probably not as effective as good vaccines and adequate advancing planning, critics are saying. In a speech Tuesday, President Bush suggested that the military could be used to quarantine areas of the country in the event of a major pandemic. The unexpected comments have drawn major media play. Critics say the plan is a ploy to gain broader powers for the military to take the lead in responding to major public health …