BREAKING: CREW calls on HHS to investigate why CDC authorized H1N1 vaccines for WALL ST when supplies are short on MAIN ST
Outrageous.
Today, CREW called on Health and Human Service (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to investigate why the Center for Disease Control (CDC) approved the distribution of the H1NI vaccine to Wall Street firms at a time when the vaccine is unavailable to most Americans.
Recent news reports indicate 13 companies, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and Time Warner, have been cleared to receive the vaccine.
The CDC is distributing the much sought-after vaccine to Wall Street firms despite reports of vast shortages. In fact, just yesterday CDC Director Thomas Frieden informed Congress that only 32.3 million doses are available, far less than the 159 million needed to cover those at the highest risk. Given the scarce supply, the CDC has recommended the vaccine be directed only to those at highest risk: pregnant women, infants and children and those up to 24 years, those who care for infants, health and emergency services personnel, and adults with compromised immune systems or other chronic health problems.
Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director, said,
Although CREW has been unable to uncover the demographic makeup of Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and JP Morgan Chase, it seems safe to assume the vast majority of their employees are not pregnant women, infants and children, young adults up to 24 years old, and healthcare workers.
State officials are also concerned about the shortages:
This situation is echoed around the country, leaving most of those seeking the vaccine unable to receive it with no remedy in sight. Frieden admitted, “It is quite likely the current wave of influenza will peak, crest and begin to decline before there are ample supplies of the vaccine.”
And Wall Street firms are getting preferential treatment.
Sloan continued,
In what world do Wall Street employees deserve to be vaccinated ahead of high-risk children, pregnant women and health care workers? Unfortunately, for the thousands being turned away in clinics across America, the CDC has decided to prioritize the millionaires over the masses. The public has a right to know how and why this has happened and when it will stop. First, the bailout, then the bonuses, now the vaccine. When will Washington start putting the needs of Main Street above those of Wall Street?”
Be glad there isn't enough vaccine.
First of all, the swine flu is not a dangerous virus. The people who have died were in poor health before they got it. And deaths this flu season are LOWER than in previous seasons. Why are we so convinced vaccines are the way to go with preventing illness? They're good for the pharmaceutical companies' bottom lines but not for us . . . or for our health. Not only are they usually contaminated with mercury or aluminum, but injecting foreign proteins and viruses from the medium in which the vaccine was grown is an insult to your immune system. Over time you become weaker, not stronger, if you regularly receive vaccines. Want to resist illness? Eat well, get plenty of sleep, wash your hands frequently, and make sure your vitamin D levels are between 50–80 ng/mL (or 125–200 nM/L) year-round. Google it to find out how. It's just that simple. And practically free.
I'm amazed to find progressives defending corporate medicine. We should be investigating the hell out of it and forcing our health care system to help us become healthier, not sicker.
Get the vaccine
This influenza strain has primarily killed otherwards healthy children from two to seventeen years old, it is not, repeat, not, causing mortality in the seasonal influenza's usually targeted harvest, the very young, very old, and those with immune-deficiencies and pre-existing health problems. And comparing the H1N1 mortality to the totals from previous years is incorrect; compare this years seasonal influenza, in total, at the end of the season, to last years seasonal influenza to get an accurate perspective. Time will tell what happens here, but progressives, like myself, an RN with six children, all homebirthed, are very familiar with CAM medicine, and reject the frankly irresponsible claims of vaccine-deniers, (not any more attractive than climate-change deniers by the way). Besides, the point of the article is that some goddamn suits are, once again, getting preferential treatment, again, for no good reason. They should be last to get any vaccine.
Get the vaccine
Personally I think that Wall Street is a very good place to test the Vaccine since they are all on the Government payroll for doing an outstanding job...
subversive thought . . .
Maybe they're trying to kill 'em off?
Vaccine NOT proven effective, NOT proven safe
Or perhaps they want to use Goldman Sucks bloodsuckers for guinea pigs instead of little school children.
There is absolutely no proof that the H1N1 vaccine works, and there is absolutely no proof that it is safe.
So go ahead and give it to the Goldman Sucks gang.
For all we know, they were in on this proven conspiracy to hype up a nonexistent flu threat so big pharma could make billions of dollars of illegitimate gains, again.
For all you know?
Really?
Interesting fact from Japan. Last week they reported 1.4 million new cases during that week. The week before, 1 million new cases during that week.
What do you know about the drink (water, milk, coffee, ...) that you drank today? What do you know about the contents of the food that you ate today?
Maybe there is a conspiracy to sell more tissue, or maybe to sell more gasoline as people go to the doctor, or to sell more oil to make additional syringes, plastic pill bottles and garbage bags for use in doctors offices.
Could be for all I know.
Wall Street firms and the flu
well that is one for the books -- and I was wondering with some of the information I have seen recently, if my very ill husband (cancer patient, heart disease, chf) should be getting this vacine since all he did get from his doctor was the regular flu shot. When we have a set of criteria to follow, why are there always exceptions -- could it be that if these bastions(Wall Street corporatins) of society who made incorrect choices doing their jobs, causing us to come to the brink are more important .... don't think so!!
priorities for flu shots
My hospital called saying that the flu shots would not be available; I am not in the major age group that should be a priority but I am a volunteer working with children in the homeless shelter and this is a very vulnerable population. The American public should insist that the proper immunizations be available through hospitals , clinics, schools etc for the most vulnerable populations. Why should a major business conglomerate have availability when my hospital calls me and says they have no flu shots available????
This is insane. Another way that big business and Wall Street will take what they want and leave the American people out in the cold (and sick); or in the homeless shelter with no health care.
Jean E. Sanders
Keeping America Safe for Goldman Sachs
My wife is a public defender in Los Angeles...she, along with all of the court personnel including baliffs and prosecutors, spend the day in and around lock-ups...they have broached the subject of vaccine but understand it is more important to protect the women and children!
I don't know, call me crazy, but if I was in poltiics I just might be tempted to hire Karl Rove in drag and have him launch against Wall Street and Creeps, Inc.
How come there are never endless e mails about the birth certificates of the CEO's?
And by the way, who is the sleaze, by name please, the 30-something that took the vaccine away from someone that needs and deserves? If they want let them pay, say something $100,000 a dose.
If they all got sick and died and didn't come to work anymore, is that catually a bad thing?
Goldman owns America
This is outrageous!
Wall Street and Goldman were the first authorized to receive Swine Flue vaccine when hospital workers and police and fire fighters and others entrusted to protect the greater good were denied.
Why did the CDC permit this? These scum financiers feed only the their embedded DNA that encompasses almighty greed. They do nothing positive for America.
They own and corrupt America and its politicians and that is the bottom line of their existence.
Government Restricting Testing for H1N1
As an avid fan OF CREW, I was amazed today to find out that I cannot have my 7 year old tested for h1n1 flu.
He has been sick since Sunday and was at the pediatrician on Monday. I asked for the test but was told that is was not important since he would be better in a couple of days and the test would take three days to get completed. On my way home I realized how totally stupid that was but decided to wait anyway. I asked myself why I hadn’t insisted since if the test was positive, my son would not need the vaccine (which is not available anyway).
By Wednesday he was still not much better so we returned to the pediatrician and requested the test. We were now told that the test COULD NOT BE DONE. The reason: the government has two labs that do the testing and they are only testing kids that are severely ill (in the hospital). Privately owned medical laboratories cannot do the testing even if I was willing to pay for it privately.
Now, I am not a conspiracy type but this smacks of a real, inherent danger if it is true. How can the government tell me, as a parent, that I cannot test my child for a potentially dangerous illness. Additionally, if he tested positive he would not need the vaccine.
Once again, if this is true, the only reason I can think of is that the government is trying to hide the real incidence of the disease in order to avoid both panic and anger towards a government that is incapable of providing vaccine in sufficient supply for its citizens.
I am writing you because I know that you are one organization that will try to find out the truth. If this is true, once again, as someone who has been in total agreement with the need for Universal Health Care, I would not only need to rethink my position but additionally, change from a life long Democrat to Independent.
I hope that you will check this out and, if true, let everyone know that we no longer live in a democracy. We are now truly in country run by the ‘corporatocracy’ with no concern for the citizens that pay the bills.
The real disease is fascism
The CDC has ORDERED all 50 states to stop collecting data on the Swine Flu. Those states that ignored this ridiculous order continue to show H1N1 is no more harmful or deadlier than any common variety of flu.
The only possible explanation for CDC's order is they are cooking the books to make a non deadly flu appear to be worse than the plague so they can justify spending tens of billions of dollar on a vaccine that doesn't work and is not safe.
Now when someone dies, the CDC asks if the deceased had the flu. It doesn't matter what kind of flu, and it doesn't matter if the deceased had a compromised immune system or pneumonia, or had one foot already in the grave. The CDC will tally the death as caused by H1N1.
Welcome to the Fascist States of Amerika!
children and swine flu
You might take comfort by doing some research into this flu . . . you'll find out it isn't particularly dangerous to children or pregnant women. It isn't particularly dangerous to anyone who's in good health and whose vitamin D levels are adequate. The so-called statistics cannot be trusted because, as you have found, nobody's testing for swine flu. So how can they be declaring that morbidity and mortality are high? in fact, they're lower this flu season. This whole situation calls for some investigative journalism and so far all I hear on the left is complaints that the darn vaccine, which we should be telling people they really don't need to inject into themselves and especially not into their children, isn't available. Thank the Maker it isn't available. You may be saving yourself from neurological insult and immune dysfunction years down the line.
H1N1
Like CREW, I'm outraged by Wall Street yet again getting a "bail out" while the rest of the country suffers. I am grateful to CREW for pursuing this issue with Secretary Sebellius.
I teach on a college campus where H1N1 has already hit, and I can certainly see why the demand for vaccine and testing will exceed the capacity of the relevant facilities. Producing all that high-demand vaccine isn't like Ford putting on an extra shift to produce more cars. If the testing labs and vaccine makers could handle the volume, surely they would--just for the profit, if not because of the health and well being of American citizens. We can't blame the government for not getting vaccine from facilities that can't produce it any faster.
However, this is why it is SO outrageous for Wall Street to receive vaccine ahead of the high risk groups. This H1N1 virus might have spread fairly quickly and might have taken some lives on Wall Street, but Goldman Sachs didn't demand the vaccine because they're concerned about the mortality rate among their employees. They are concerned about down time, inefficiency, lost profit. And you can bet your retirement account they aren't at all concerned about the mortality rate among unvaccinated children, pregnant women, and health care workers. Never mind the bet; Wall Street has now truly shown its disdain for public welfare in every way possible.
American medical establishment
I am concerned about neither the H1N1 flu or vaccine because I take care of my own health rather than allowing corporations interested only in profit to do so, nor do I care about "health" (which our system does not promote, but instead, we have "disease maintenance") care reform.
Obama's feeble attempts at reform are going to produce few changes other than more profit for Big Pharma and the rest of the medical establishment, and for the insurance industry. The insurance industry is getting its dream wish in the form of mandatory health insurance for all citizens. Yeah. Mandatory or not, money is still required to pay for insurance, and jobs are required to make money.
Here in Phildelphia, the Parking Authority continues to raise fines and the price of parking meters, but so what? If citizens can't pay their tickets, they can't pay their tickets!! Same with mandatory insurance.
Anyway, I await the total collapse of the American economy and government which, I believe, is imminent. The present economy, which is morally corrupt and inherently unjust, serving only the rich and widening the gap between rich and poor (oh, but there's so many more of we poor!!) cannot be sustained. Furthermore, our government serves only the rich as well.
Soap Box Amy, Philadelphia, PA
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H1N1 vaccine
It is outrageous that our stupid health care system, the President, and Congress has chosen to give the limited vaccines to Wall Street instead of to those who need it. Where are our priorities? Hasn't Wall Street done enough to hurt us?