Long wait, lack of availability is story of U.S.

The shortage of flu vaccine in the United States provides an interesting arguing point for critics and supporters of a Canadian-style health care system.
Canada's critics say that Americans would never tolerate the kind of rationing of care and waits for service that are inherent in such a system.
Yet, today, it is Americans who are waiting in long lines for scare doses of flue shots, while in Canada, vaccinations proceed on schedule. In fact, some Canadian clinics in border areas are providing inoculations to Americans, for anywhere from $12 to $40. As long as Americans don't start coming across the border in waves seeking inoculations, Canadian health officials don't seem worried about their ability to provide, as they are bound to do, for their own citizens' needs.
There is a flaw in the logic that holds that runaway jury verdicts have forced vaccine makers out of the market. If that were true, you'd expect those who were still in the business of creating vaccine to be scrupulous in their procedures, knowing that a breakdown in quality control could lead to massive law suits.
Yet it is just such a breakdown that is at the heart of the shortage. British regulators shut down U.S.-bound shipments from Chiron Corp., after some batches of the vaccine were found to be contaminated with bacteria.
By the same token, those who argue that lawsuits area powerful tool in forcing manufacturers to make better products because they fear lawsuits, also lose in this case.
Thirty-six thousand Americans die of the flu every year. If that number rises by just a tenth because we have only half as much flu vaccine as we need, the increase in deaths will exceed the number killed by Osama bin Laden on Sept. 11, 2001.
The parallels to 9/11 do not stop there. As in the 2001 catastrophe, officials of the Bush administration are claiming ignorance as if it were a virtue. They say they had no idea the vaccine shortage would happen. They are pinning the blame on neglect by previous administrations.
And they are bragging about everything they are doing -- now -- to prevent this kind of thing in the future. But, as with the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it didn't take long for various filed-and-forgotten reports to resurface, all of them warning about the danger of a flu vaccine shortage.
Hindsight is cheap, of course. Washington is the world's leading manufacturer of dire warnings. You can't heed them all. But there were other hints as well. Lesser flu vaccine screw-ups have been common in recent years. Clearly, the system was broken.
Regarding 9/11, President Bush's apologists emphasize that it happened when he was still learning his way to the White House men's room. But the flu vaccine shortage comes as he is running for reelection with heavy emphasis on claims of wisdom derived from experience.
The flu-shot problem could have happened under any president. But it was more likely to happen under this one because preventive measures conflict with his ideology. When frail elderly people are falling down dead as they plod from clinic to drugstore in search of vaccine, and a black market is growing to serve those who can pay hundreds of dollars for a single dose, it is not a good moment for bromides about the evils of letting big government allocate healthcare.
Then there is money. A scientist quoted in the New York Times on Sunday noted that the government was spending $283 million a year on flu research and $5.6 billion on research for a vaccine against anthrax, a purely theoretical threat.
The causes of the flu vaccine shortage may even include a couple that Bush would find compatible with his philosophy: lawsuits and excessive regulation. But he missed the opportunity to ride these hobbyhorses, and possibly to prevent a national disaster, because he was otherwise engaged.
Both federal and local officials must recognize that the shortage of flu vaccine in the United States is, indeed, a crisis. The death of Orinda, Calif., resident Marie Franklin on Oct. 13 is testament to that point.
Franklin, 79, had been waiting in line for about four hours to get a flu shot in Lafayette, Calif., when she fainted and hit her head on electric meter box. The blow to the head caused bleeding inside her skull, which killed her.
Long lines for flu shots have sprung up ever since it was announced that the Chiron Corp. had produced tainted batches of the vaccine at its Liverpool, Britain, plant. The firm, which has offices in Emeryville, Calif., was forced to destroy as many as 48 million doses of the vaccine.
Chiron is one of only two companies that make the vaccine for the United States and it supplies a huge portion of the nation's flu vaccine each year.
The production of the vaccine is complex and highly time-consuming and is an extremely lengthy process. Decisions about next year's production must be made soon. Chiron officials insist that they can have the Liverpool production plant operating in time to safely handle the demand next year, but that could be problematic.
When news first broke about the tainted vaccine, most authorities as well as much of the public underestimated the impact of that announcement.
To many people flu shots are simply a precaution against getting ill for a week or two during the winter. But to senior citizens and people suffering from other health maladies, flu shots are critical for survival.
That is why the lines began to spring up immediately after the announcement about the Chiron contamination was made.
Although the government must take quick and decisive steps to alleviate the crisis, it must also take extreme care not to cause a panic. In essence, that is what got us in trouble in the first place.
The local and federal governments -- all of them -- must take steps to ensure that flu shots are going to the people who need them most and that there is enough flu vaccine available for the nation's hospitals.
To help in that effort, people who do not critically need flu shots should forego them this year. It is the least we can do in this time of crisis.