Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) on Thursday introduced the Flu Vaccine Act, legislation to conduct or support comprehensive research for the creation of a universal influenza vaccine that could be administered once or twice and provide a lifetime of protection. The legislation is calling for a total investment of $1 billion – $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023 for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
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The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases within NIH spent an estimated $64 million for universal flu vaccine research in fiscal year 2017. The United States has already seen 63 pediatric deaths and high levels of illness and hospitalizations related to the flu this season. One-in-10 Americans who died the week ending on January 20th died from the flu or pneumonia. The flu costs the nation $10.4 billion in direct medical costs annually and $87 billion in total economic burden, yet our current investment is significantly lacking. The current flu vaccine is only 60 percent effective at best, with some estimates putting the effectiveness of this year’s vaccine as low as 10 percent.
“America’s scientists and clinicians are gold medalists in health and disease research, and is it is up to the United States to lead the world in the response to the flu,” said Senator Markey. “We must enhance our ability to predict the right strain for the next season, produce a more optimal vaccine, and protect all Americans against all strains of this virus. The Flu Vaccine Act will help provide dedicated, consistent resources so that we can perform the basic science research necessary to improve upon our current vaccine and ultimately develop a universal one.”
Senators co-sponsoring the Flu Vaccine Act are Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Angus King (I-Maine.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
At an event Thursday discussing the Flu Vaccine Bill, Dr. Paul Auwaerter, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America made the following remarks:
“This has been a serious influenza season. We are witnessing more widespread infection and severe illness than in the past decade. The consequences include potentially preventable deaths, hospitalizations, and illness leading to missed work and school. This all clearly speaks to the urgent need for a durable and universal influenza vaccine. The most prevalent influenza strain this year, the H3N2 virus, causes more serious illness, while at the same time the vaccines produced tend to be less effective because our current manufacturing processes may contribute to unintended mutations. Senator Markey’s bill will provide important resources to help overcome this problem.
“As an infectious diseases physician, I have seen some of the devastating results.
“Last week a child was admitted to the hospital who had been diagnosed with influenza the previous week. The patient is now on life support due to overwhelming viral infection that led to heart failure and renal failure. Two patients in the Intensive Care Unit were critically ill on ventilators because their influenza led to overwhelming, necrotizing bacterial pneumonia.
“Cases like these are happening across the country. Such tragedies underscore the serious need to develop broad, effective protection against influenza regardless of each season’s primary strains. New approaches are needed to develop an effective and more durable universal influenza vaccine. Current vaccines are based on the immune system responding to the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) protein that varies depending on the circulating strains of influenza, often changing rapidly requiring yearly vaccination. It is important that we invest the resources necessary to overcome these scientific hurdles to find new methods, and Sen. Markey’s bill will be extremely helpful.
“A coordinated and comprehensive response for influenza research and development will strengthen our public health infrastructure, and substantially lead to a more ready and healthier workforce.
“In addition to a better vaccine, we need improved influenza diagnostics and antiviral drugs. We also need to invest in our public health system so that surveillance and tracking can help us understand influenza’s impact and how we can better prevent infection. This will help inform policies to increase the number of individuals who receive the influenza vaccine—that the CDC recommends for all individuals over 6 months of age. Dedicated requirements that health care personnel receive flu shots to protect their own health and to prevent spread to the vulnerable patients they serve have been highly effective.
“This influenza season also underscores the importance of a highly skilled workforce of clinicians, researchers and public health experts who can swiftly mobilize to address severe influenza by caring for critically ill patients, conducting research for vaccines and other countermeasures, and implementing public health interventions. Fewer young physicians are pursuing the infectious diseases specialty, yet there is increasing demand for such expertise. How medical students and young physicians choose careers has been strongly influenced by their financial burdens. Strategies are clearly needed that address the high financial burdens of medical education as well as the compensation in a field where practitioners earn significantly less income that physicians in other specialties that require the same amount of training.
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The severity of this influenza season is also compounded by another public health crisis — antimicrobial resistance. Many hospitalizations for influenza, including the cases of my two patients in intensive care, and many influenza deaths are attributable to secondary bacterial pneumonia that is increasingly difficult to treat due to antimicrobial resistance. The scarcity of new antibiotics in development mean there will be worse problems with untreatable infections as bacteria continue their relentless development of resistance to these miracle medicines of the 20th century. We need research efforts and incentives to stimulate new miracle drugs for our century.
“This year’s flu season has highlighted many ways we can do better, in protecting individual and public health by developing new tools and ensuring access to the ones we have. Senator Markey’s proposal is a good start at a good time. It will speed the way to a time when the approach of the influenza season doesn’t inspire dread.”
Additionally, Senator Markey and his colleagues sent a letter today to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) asking for more information on how the department is preparing for and responding to the flu virus. Specifically, the Senators request additional detail on the department’s work to predict more accurately the right viral strain for upcoming flu seasons, produce vaccines more rapidly and effectively, prepare hospitals and providers for the risks of a severe flu season, and protect all Americans against the virus through developing a universal flu vaccine.
Related:
- Schuchat on flu outbreak: ‘We may be on track to beat some recent records’
- Sen. Schumer calls for CDC ‘Flu Team’ for New York
- North Korea reports H1N1 influenza outbreak
- Flu shots: Repeated influenza vaccination helps prevent severe flu in older adults
- Universal influenza A vaccine developed: Produces long-lasting immunity in mice
- Flu vaccines: The shortcomings and the need for a ‘universal’ vaccine
I will NEVER vaccinate again. I havent vaccinated since the Mid 1990’s and I havent got sick like the rest of the country who stupidly sticks their arm with that BULLSH I T!!!!
Practice cleaner habits and lifestyle and you will be surprised how much things change. If your a socialite that likes to go out every weekend, hate to break it to you but that is part of your problem. During flu season, almost everything in the public is contaminated.
Right on!!! TRUST NO VACCINE!!! Shot in the arm. Shot in the head. Either way you’re dead. I’m severely allergic to all that vaccine and Big Pharma crap. But they won’t care if I’m dead when they force the flu vaccine on us.
Any of you Morons in our Congress heard of Nutritional Therapy for everyone? Oh, your drug companies of which are on the CDC board can’t make enough money that way. Instead blind eyed idiots like my senator Klobuchar probably cant read far enough or understand basic nutrition keeps the body healthy. Old people aren’t idiots, and their bodies will respond to good vitamins. Flu is airborne everyone breathes it. if you keep your immune system healthy(no flu shots) your body will naturally fight the flu. What a sham and shame on our lazy paid for by drug company lobbyists.
A Good immune system is what fights a Flu virus, not a vaccine! Vaccines are loaded with crap that literally destroys us. They take us for being fools or something, but we know that it is the love of money that is the root of all evil.
The sponsors of this “bill” (or is it “bull”) should be impeached and removed from DC, never to be involved in government at ANY level because they are terminally infected with stupid. There is no cure-all for a virus; they mutate. Think of them as politicians who tell you one thing to get votes then tell you they can’t do that once they are elected. Maybe we need a functional vaccine that will make politicians go away !
A vaccine agianst politicians is called Statesmen.
Our scientist and clinicians are not only on the take from big pharma, but known to commit fraud in publishing articles for journals. The fraud has risen to such a high level that everything published is now in question. Spend the money on finding a new antibiotic since we have lost most all because of overuse of antibiotics in feed and unnecessary use. The population is too ignorant to pay attention to what is going on. A pick pocket could make a decent living picking the pockets of the average dumb down citizen. The government and big pharma do a great job and have conditioned the average half asleep ripe for the picking. Would not surprise me this gets passed thru just like the lobbyist bought and paid for the politicians to do just that. Another windfall for big pharma. If it turns out to not work it will be sold to the third world saps.
This guy probably got paid off by the globalist to write this death by vaccination bill. Viruses will be here with humanity forever and these types of mandates will never eradicate them. Viruses will adapt and they will again come up with another super vaccine which will create another super virus and kill even more people . Kill the bill.
Ok, 1 in 10 Americans who died last week, died of the flu or pneumonia. All the “talk” is about the flu vaccine, which does nothing about pneumonia. These are two separate viruses/problems that are lumped together . Why? Exactally how many people died from the flu and how many from pneumonia? Why isn’t the pneumonia vaccine being brought up? We know the flu vaccine is ineffective and folks who got it are spreading the flu more than non-vaccinated folks. Just what is the alleged efficacy of the pneumonia?
Leave it to Democrats who want to control every aspect of your life, to come up with this…
I notice Dr. Auwaerter didn’t volunteer whether or not the kid admitted to the hospital he mentioned, was vaccinated.
My mom sent me an email last week about how the flu has caused her to lose 5 pounds in a week. Yes, she got the flu shot, and yes, I’ve told her repeatedly NOT to. Sometimes, I hate being right. At least my daughter listened to me.
DOES AMERICA WANT TO END ALL THE DESASES,call the PRESIDENT and have him ORDER the US AIR FORCE TO SHOOT DOWN ANY AIRCRAFT SPRAYING THIS COUNTRY WITH ANY KIND OF CHEMTRAILS,no warning ,JUST shoot them down…I think america might be surprised how fast all the flus and crap stops…….