Flu, Its Vaccine, and a Troubled Distribution System
Good afternoon. I’m Dr. William Lander, a practicing family physician from Bryn Mawr and Immediate Past President of the Pennsylvania Medical Society. I’m here today to represent the Pennsylvania Medical Society.
Let me begin by thanking Chairman Baker and members of this committee for holding today’s hearing on the influenza vaccine and its distribution. The Pennsylvania Medical Society appreciates the opportunity to speak on the subject.
By my count, this is the third time this year that I’ve testified in front of a legislative group regarding problems with the distribution efforts of the influenza vaccine. Needless to say, if our flu vaccine distribution system were in perfect working order, so many hearings would not have been held. But, they have been, and this should be a clear signal that the time has come to fix a broken system.
Let me share my personal experience as a physician.
This past flu season, I did not receive any shipments from my vaccine supplier. Not one shot, despite having placed an order in a timely manner.
I got lucky in that a friend from a local hospital system knew that they may have additional supplies, and through the health system I was able to obtain enough vaccine for 100 patients. But that was it.
Similarly, the year before, I received nothing from my vaccine supplier.
During both years, some patients had to be referred to other locations for a shot. And in some cases the patient went without being vaccinated at all.
The bottom line is that the current distribution system ties my hands. I’m trained to help patients, but when supplies are not available, I have no ability to help prevent them from catching the flu. As a physician, this is extremely frustrating.
While we managed to get through this past flu season, I am worried about the next season because I was one of the many doctors who tried to place an order for next year, but was unsuccessful. Earlier this year, I had contacted both a manufacturer and my supplier to place an order on the initial date orders were being taken. Both – manufacturer and supplier – told me that they were already sold out. This makes me wonder who’s buying it.
Why do we need to find a better distribution system?
I can think of approximately 36,000 good reasons why we must do a better job in distributing the flu vaccine. See, every year, about 36,000 Americans will die from complications of the flu.
If that’s not staggering enough, more than 200,000 people will be hospitalized, and between 5 and 20 percent of the U.S. population will become ill, according to a report from the 2006 National Influenza Vaccine Summit sponsored by the American Medical Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In addition to too many deaths, this preventable situation costs our country billions of dollars every year. Imagine saving this money by preventing the flu. Think of all the things we can do with the billions of dollars saved.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society supports legislative and regulatory efforts to reform the vaccine production and distribution system. We propose that the federal government be allowed to control the system to the extent necessary to achieve two things: to maintain production at sufficient levels for the anticipated seasonal threat, and to facilitate distribution that assures first priority for persons at highest risk. The Medical Society also supports legal protection for manufacturers of vaccine that follow proper manufacturing practices and for health care personnel who provide or withhold vaccinations in accordance with CDC guidelines.
Better collaboration and cooperation among many different groups involved in influenza production and vaccination are necessary. A more effective program that prioritizes existing supplies for high-risk patients should be put in place.
I’ll conclude by mentioning that we’re suggesting a national solution, including reasonable legal protection for responsible manufacturers and health care personnel, as I just mentioned. But we shouldn’t ignore the ability of the states to leverage reform. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a major purchaser of pharmaceuticals. As such, in addition to applying pressure to federal officials, the state may want to investigate creative ways through its strengths as a purchaser to solve this problem for Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable patients.
On behalf of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, I thank you for the opportunity to present testimony today on this very important subject.
Last Updated: 10/11/2007