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Flu vaccine distributors gouging prices in wake of shortage
Infection Control Monitor, October 15, 2004
Health officials are warning facilities to beware of flu vaccine distributors trying to take advantage of the shortage of doses in the United States by selling them at 10 times the price, USA Today reports.
Meanwhile, health officials continue to direct the limited supply of flu vaccine to patients most at-risk at nursing homes, pediatrician offices, and hospitals. The nation lost half of its flu vaccine supply when British officials last week suspended the license of a Liverpool, England, plant, owned by California-based manufacturer Chiron.
In a survey this week of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 55% of 677 hospital pharmacists reported being offered the vaccine at highly inflated prices. Nearly 85% of the respondents indicated they would not buy the vaccine at that price, even though they needed it.
Some hospitals reported that a 10-dose vial of the vaccine, which normally sells for $80 to $100, was offered at $400 to $900.
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