H1N1 Vaccine Limited Supply

The H1N1 vaccine has been harder to produce than expected. Even now, after several delays, only limited quantities are being made available. This means not everyone who wants or needs the vaccine will be able to get it. Governments and health authorities have come up with a priority list to decide who lives and who might die. No surprise that economic factors are used to determine those priorities.

First on the list are the politicians, and CEOs of major corporations. In an emergency, it was determined that we need the leaders to keep things running smoothly. Someone has to direct where to move all of the dead.

Next come health care workers who are directly involved in pandemic response or who deliver essential health services. If they were to succumb, then who could give the vaccine shots to the CEOs? It all makes sense. After that come the cooks, servants, corporate jet pilots and limousine drivers for executives and top politicians. That way the leaders can get around without any problems.

Further down the list are the middle class, and working people who work to create the economy we need to exist. Some of these people will be secretly given a number of candidate vaccines in order to field test the secondary candidates to see what works best. One control group will be given an inert substance to verify that the vaccines are better than none at all. Based on initial rounds of field testing, scientists hope to come up with a more reliable vaccine that can be produced in greater quantities.

In the middle of the list, the health authorities consulted with insurance companies who are experts on statistical mortality rates. The intention is the get the biggest return on the limited quantities of vaccine available at the present, and also to try to work out where the most urgent needs were. The side effect is that insurance companies with their claims adjusters and actuarial tables are dictating who is on the list and who is not. Unfortunately, those people who either do not have insurance or are not current with their premiums may not be rated highly on the list.

When you get down the list to the uninsured, the unemployed and any people who claim they have evidence (that could convict the previously mentioned politicians and CEOs), they will be given the the seasonal flu vaccine. Although it has been rumored that this strain actually increases your chances of catching the H1N1 virus, it has not yet been proven.

Additionaly in Canada, the government has sent body bags to many locations expected to be hit by the pandemic, such as the Manitoba reserves. If you get a body bag in the mail, with your name already on it, there is no need to panic, as this is only precautionary. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said it is just the same as the body bags sent to our soldiers in Afghanistan. We recommend you store it near the front door to your house, so it can be readily found in the case it were ever needed.