(Washington, D.C.) Fourth Congressional Representative Mike Ross (D-4)
today responded to the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) announcement
that the nation’s flu vaccine supply will be cut in half after learning
one of only two companies making flu shots for the United States would
not be able to sell 48 million doses because of contamination.
The CDC’s announcement comes on the heels of their recent expansion
of the target populations for flu shots where the agency had begun urging
more people than ever to get them this flu season. The CDC is now
urging healthy adults to forego their flu shot in an attempt to vaccinate
children and the elderly, who are at higher risk to complications as a
result of the illness. Influenza kills about 36,000 people in the
United States each year.
“During my first term in office, I began meeting with officials at the
Pentagon to work toward the creation of a Government Owned, Contractor
Operated (GOCO) Vaccine Production Facility, to be located in the Bioplex,
a proposed high tech industrial park near the Pine Bluff Arsenal and the
National Center for Toxicological Research, a FDA facility.” said Ross.
“The consistent inability of independent companies to provide not only
flu vaccines to the citizens of our country, but also numerous bio-terrorism
vaccines to our men and women in uniform is unacceptable.”
A 1994 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study entitled “Economic Analysis
for the Department of Defense Biological Warfare Defense Vaccine Production
Facility” suggested the United States Government needs to be responsible
for vaccine production for military personnel, and that the facility should
be placed at the Pine Bluff Arsenal.
In 1998, a contract for producing vaccines for military personnel was
awarded to BioPoint, a private company based in East Lansing, Michigan.
The military later had to suspend vaccinations after BioPoint was unable
to deliver bio-terrorism vaccines, resulting in a shortage of vaccines
needed to adequately protect our soldiers from bio-terrorism threats.
“As you can see, this is not the first time our current system has failed,”
said Ross. “Unfortunately, this is a good example of the private
sectors’ failure or inability to provide vaccines. If the private
sector cannot even provide something as simple as an adequate supply of
flu shots for the citizens of America, we should not count on them to provide
bio-terrorism vaccines for our soldiers in uniform who put themselves in
harms way. They deserve better.
“I believe the creation of a GOCO Vaccine Production Facility in the
Bioplex at Pine Bluff Arsenal is the first step to ensuring our soldiers
have the vaccines they need. It will also bolster the economy in Southeast
Arkansas by creating jobs to provide the military with bio-terrorism and
other vaccines they need and deserve.” |