Brother, can you spare some vaccine?

On October 5, half of the US vaccine supplies for 2004 vanished overnight when Chiron announced that it couldn't deliver on the contract for some 48 million doses. Sterilization problems in the manufacturing process led British authorities to suspend all activity at the company's Liverpool plant. The shortage has sparked US interest not only in Canada's vaccines but also in our national vaccine plan, which ensures an adequate supply for all Canadians. But there is one apparent flaw in our current system: we only have two suppliers. If one producer is unable to deliver, we could end up facing a similar shortage here. Failure to diversify is what pushed the US vaccine shortage to a critical level (they too have contracts with only two producers). It's arguable that a shortage of flu shots in Canada wouldn't be as devastating; because of our smaller demand, we wouldn't be too hard pressed to find replacement supplies on the world market. But isn't it better to cover all our bases and pre-empt a potential problem?

For Canadians, the US vaccine shortage isn't just a cautionary tale. As usual, given our close ties and proximity, their crises end up affecting us too � like it or not. Canada's surplus of 2004 flu shots could well end up going to our southern neighbours, according to federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh. The surplus is meant to be sold on the private market to companies and doctors' offices that provide shots for people who aren't covered by the national health plan. But not everyone's keen on sharing our extra stock with the Americans. Ontario and Alberta have both already refused. The move isn't really surprising, given that both provinces have been burned by American policies in the not-so-distant past. Border congestion was a big problem faced by Ontarians because of tighter post-September 11 US security, and Alberta's beef with the US � the ban on Canadian livestock importation after the mad cow disease fiasco � is still fairly fresh.

Nonetheless, Canadians aren't ruling out supplying some vaccine to the US. In fact, border communities like St Stephen, NB, and Stanstead, QC, are busy trying to accommodate panicky Americans demanding to get vaccinated. But these small towns don't have enough doses to go around. Of course, even if Canada generously chips in to help lessen the shortage, our vaccines aren't licensed for use in the US. The FDA will have to okay it before the American people are subjected to this potentially life-saving intervention. Given their critical situation, the FDA may allow the flu shots in as an "investigational drug." I'm so glad they're not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

� Shereen Joseph, Editor

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