In the article, Nation is Facing Vaccine Shortage for Seasonal Flu by Donald G. McNeil of the NY Times, McNeil reports on the shortage of vaccines in the midst of this flu scare. Drug manufacturers have been growing vaccines and more are expected to be shipped in November. However, the amount of flu vaccines administered have increased by more than 33% compared with the amount distributed last year. There is a serious risk of running out and in places like New York, some clinics and hospitals are actually not administering vaccines to healthy people 65 and younger. The American people are being vaccinated for both swine flu and the seasonal flu, but supplies still need to be distributed globally. It is likely that poor countries will only get about 10% of the vaccine stock. Manufacturing flu vaccines have always been a debatable topic for drug manufacturers. The vaccines are not only more expensive to produce but they are also harder to make than other drugs. Vaccines also expire after shorter periods of time. All in all, the problems with continually producing vaccines out-weigh the benefits.
The article was a good starting point for more articles. I want to see how charitable drug companies are being to countries that can't afford to pay for the vaccines. I have been thinking of ways that McNeil could have stumbled upon this story. I would like to think that maybe he was one of those denied a vaccine in NY. This brings me to the topic of finding stories to write about. Its difficult to find an original story that people want to read, because reporters could be fishing for a story that doesn't exist. Overall, the lead was strong and the sources were credible enough to spark my concern.
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