A shortage of influenza vaccine in the northern hemisphere could negatively affect South Africa next winter, a private sector clinic said on Thursday.
”If they are having a very bad flu season in the northern hemisphere, then we are guaranteed a bad season,” said Dr Andrew Jamieson, a medical director of the South African Airways-Netcare Travel Clinics.
British health authorities have temporarily withdrawn the licence of an influenza vaccine supplier, resulting in a possible nshortage of flu vaccines.
”The consequences of the resulting shortage of flu vaccine in many countries could be dire: in an average year the disease kills 36 000 Americans and hospitalises another 114 000, mostly the elderly,” Jamieson said.
”Without vaccination the number could be significantly higher.”
South Africa experiences shortages of various vaccines ”from time to time”, said Jamieson.
”We sometimes have shortages of yellow fever and measles vaccines… suppliers may not have stocks for six weeks,” he said.
”Outlets have to make sure they keep up to two months of vaccine stock at any one time.”
Jamieson said this was expensive.
”The contents of your fridge are worth hundreds of thousands of rands. And if you have a power failure you lose all the stock.”
Jamieson said a report by the US National Vaccine Advisory Committee in 2003 found that between late 2000 and early 2003 there were ”unprecedented and unanticipated” shortages of eight of the 11 routinely administered vaccines.
This included measles, mumps, rubella and diphtheria vaccines. He attributed these shortages to ”the unacceptable face of medical capitalism”.
”Vaccine production is, in many cases, no longer profitable for larger pharmaceutical companies.”
The cost of developing, producing and distributing the vaccines is prohibitive compared to other drugs, he said.
”Legal actions against companies, albeit unfounded, serve as further discouragement.”
This has resulted in only five companies producing vaccines for the United States market, compared to 25 companies 30 years ago.
”Internationally, 10 of 14 vaccine manufacturers partly or totally stopped production of traditional childhood vaccines between 1998 and 2001,” Jamieson said.
Instead of producing vaccines, the large pharmaceutical manufacturers produce more profitable drugs, such as chronic medication for hypertension, diabetes and osteoporosis.
”Rather than develop and manufacture vaccines that can prevent illness and save lives, the short sighted business mindset seems to be to maximise the profits to be made from ill-health by concentrating on developing medications that people take every month till they die.” – Sapa