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I wonder how many American kids will die because of this controversial decision?
CNSNews.com
Sebelius Says U.S. Will Donate Part of H1N1 Vaccine Supply to Foreign Nations Before Meeting This Nation?s Demand
Thursday, October 22, 2009
By Chris Neefus
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (Photo by Penny Starr/CNSNews.com)
(CNSNews.com) ? Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CNSNews.com Wednesday that one in 10 doses of the swine-flu vaccine purchased by the U.S. will be donated to other nations before U.S. demand is filled.
Sebelius also told a Senate committee that vaccine production is well behind demand.
?What we said is once we have 40 million doses (of the vaccine), the donation can start,? Sebelius told CNSNews.com. ?There?s an agreement (of) 10 percent donation that 11 nations have made,? she said.
HHS has ordered about 250 million doses of the vaccine, so the donation would begin after the U.S. received just 16 percent of its original order.
Sebelius made the remarks at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on the government's preparations for dealing with the H1N1 flu virus outbreak. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also provided testimony at the hearing.
The nation?s top health bureaucrat said the government would still donate to foreign nations part of the stock of vaccine purchased by the U.S. government despite delays in getting the vaccine to American citizens, which she said puts the nation ?at the point where demand is ahead of the yield.?
?We will do our best to ramp up the production and continue to push it out the door,? Sebelius said.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) asked Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebilius why the United States should get vaccinations ahead of people in other countries, including those in countries that are producing the vaccine for the United States. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)
Sen. John Tester (D-Mont.) expressed concern about the administration's plan to give away vaccine stocks to other countries, asking Sebelius: ?So, why should we be entitled, the U.S. be more entitled, to that vaccine than some other country in the world??
Sebelius responded: ?The president has clearly made it clear that his priority is the safety and security of the American people, but he has also asked that we are a global partner. We have joined now 11 nations? to donate the vaccine to other countries.
(snip)
But when speaking with CNSNews.com after the hearing, Sebelius also emphasized the needs of developing countries.
Asked whether Americans should be prioritized over foreigners with the stockpile of H1N1 vaccine that HHS has ordered using taxpayer funds, Sebelius said: ?Well, I think that we are trying to do both things simultaneously--participating is part of our partnership with 11 other countries in terms of donating to developing countries.?
(snip)
?There?s an agreement (on) 10 percent donation that 11 nations have made, at the same time trying to get the vaccine out to Americans," said Sebelius. "What we said is once we have 40 million doses, the donation can start.?
(snip)
When CNSNews.com tried to clarify whether the donation would happen once the delay in production was over and all of the U.S. demand had been met, Sebelius said that was not the case.
?Well, no," she said. "Forty million doses was the initial benchmark and so once that is in this country, then 10 percent of the (doses are donated), and we?ll make up the rest. That?s what the other nations are doing too--England, New Zealand, and Australia and Germany and Spain are all participating in this kind of global effort.?
HHS has ordered about 250 million doses of swine flu vaccine, both in injection and nasal mist forms, which they expect to administer through the Spring. The U.S. population is about 307 million.
CNSNews.com
Sebelius Says U.S. Will Donate Part of H1N1 Vaccine Supply to Foreign Nations Before Meeting This Nation?s Demand
Thursday, October 22, 2009
By Chris Neefus
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (Photo by Penny Starr/CNSNews.com)
(CNSNews.com) ? Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CNSNews.com Wednesday that one in 10 doses of the swine-flu vaccine purchased by the U.S. will be donated to other nations before U.S. demand is filled.
Sebelius also told a Senate committee that vaccine production is well behind demand.
?What we said is once we have 40 million doses (of the vaccine), the donation can start,? Sebelius told CNSNews.com. ?There?s an agreement (of) 10 percent donation that 11 nations have made,? she said.
HHS has ordered about 250 million doses of the vaccine, so the donation would begin after the U.S. received just 16 percent of its original order.
Sebelius made the remarks at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on the government's preparations for dealing with the H1N1 flu virus outbreak. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also provided testimony at the hearing.
The nation?s top health bureaucrat said the government would still donate to foreign nations part of the stock of vaccine purchased by the U.S. government despite delays in getting the vaccine to American citizens, which she said puts the nation ?at the point where demand is ahead of the yield.?
?We will do our best to ramp up the production and continue to push it out the door,? Sebelius said.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) asked Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebilius why the United States should get vaccinations ahead of people in other countries, including those in countries that are producing the vaccine for the United States. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)
Sen. John Tester (D-Mont.) expressed concern about the administration's plan to give away vaccine stocks to other countries, asking Sebelius: ?So, why should we be entitled, the U.S. be more entitled, to that vaccine than some other country in the world??
Sebelius responded: ?The president has clearly made it clear that his priority is the safety and security of the American people, but he has also asked that we are a global partner. We have joined now 11 nations? to donate the vaccine to other countries.
(snip)
But when speaking with CNSNews.com after the hearing, Sebelius also emphasized the needs of developing countries.
Asked whether Americans should be prioritized over foreigners with the stockpile of H1N1 vaccine that HHS has ordered using taxpayer funds, Sebelius said: ?Well, I think that we are trying to do both things simultaneously--participating is part of our partnership with 11 other countries in terms of donating to developing countries.?
(snip)
?There?s an agreement (on) 10 percent donation that 11 nations have made, at the same time trying to get the vaccine out to Americans," said Sebelius. "What we said is once we have 40 million doses, the donation can start.?
(snip)
When CNSNews.com tried to clarify whether the donation would happen once the delay in production was over and all of the U.S. demand had been met, Sebelius said that was not the case.
?Well, no," she said. "Forty million doses was the initial benchmark and so once that is in this country, then 10 percent of the (doses are donated), and we?ll make up the rest. That?s what the other nations are doing too--England, New Zealand, and Australia and Germany and Spain are all participating in this kind of global effort.?
HHS has ordered about 250 million doses of swine flu vaccine, both in injection and nasal mist forms, which they expect to administer through the Spring. The U.S. population is about 307 million.
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