72 million doses of flu vaccine will be discarded because they have expired without being used, according to the Washington Post.

The $1.6 billion program was the “most ambitious immunization campaign in U.S. history.” Out of 229 million doses of swine flu vaccine purchased by the government, only 91 million have been used.  So not even half were used.  It might be possible to save some of the still unused vaccine for future use, but it could wind up in the garbage too.

Some states had vaccination rates three times higher than others.  This is an interesting natural experiment.  Did the states with high vaccination have less flu? 

When researchers have examined this question in the past, they have found no correlation.  Yet the CDC is saying that this year’s vaccine “blunted the pandemic,”  and “officials said they were largely satisfied with the effort.”  In fact, as I noted in my last post, the federal flu policy has changed to a recommendation that all Americans get a flu shot every year. 

This is in stark contrast to the reaction in Europe, where the WHO is being officially investigated for what is being viewed there as a fiasco of gross overreaction that was possibly linked to the corrupt influence of Big Pharma trying to sell flu vaccine, Tamiflu, etc. 

Was throwing shots into garbage cans really the best use of a billion taxpayer dollars here in the U.S. ?

Disclaimer:  This blog is a commentary on news items about flu.  It is not intended as individual medical advice.  Please consult a well-informed health care professional for your personal medical concerns.