http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2003/12/13/140235.shtml
Saturday, Dec. 13, 2003 1:26 p.m. EST
Hillary's Flu Vaccine Crisis
Newspapers are awash this week with headlines warning that the U.S. is running out of flu vaccine just as the crisis reaches near-epidemic levels, with 11 children dead so far.
But as top radio talker Rush Limbaugh noted this week, the press isn't explaining how the most sophisticated health care system in the world was caught short by the flu crisis.
Perhaps reporters ought to ask New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, since one of the few health care reforms she managed to inflict on the nation during her co-presidency has now backfired by driving most of America's flu vaccine producers out of business.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal this week, "The reason for today's shortage - as well as seven previous preventive vaccine shortages since 2000 - is that there are just five vaccine makers.
"This lack of suppliers is partly thanks to Hillary Clinton, who as first lady turned government into the majority buyer of vaccines and pushed prices so low as to make business unsustainable."
Last summer the Journal noted that the problem goes back to 1993, when Mrs. Clinton's "Vaccines for Children Program" was first implemented.
Hillary's vaccine crusade was being pushed by her Children's Defense Fund mentor Marian Wright Edelman - even though U.S. child vaccination rates at the time were considered relatively high by medical experts.
But that didn't stop Sen. Clinton and her "reformers." She pressured Congress to back the disastrous plan in a bid to make vaccines more available to poor, uninsured and underinsured children. In the process she turned the government into the major purchaser and distributor of vaccines.
Oops! Unfortunately for the familles of the 11 children killed by the disease so far, things didn't quite work out the way Hillary had planned.
As noted by the Kansas City Star this week, the decision to force vaccine makers to discount their price resulted in "declining financial incentives to develop and produce vaccines."
What's more, the vaccination rate "barely budged" after the Hillary-Edelman brainchild was implemented.
Hillary's "reform" did, however, manage to leave the nation thoroughly unprepared to handle the current flu crisis.