Saturday, May 02, 2009

Tamiflu Shortage: Texas Legislature Is At Fault

Ask around. Try and find out whether you can lay your hands on some Tamiflu, a prescription drug that fights swine flu, especially in its initial stages, and is also useful as a preventative medicine for those whose health or immune systems are in poor shape.

It’s scarce right now. You aren’t going to find much.

Guess why?

Your Texas 2007 Republican-dominated state legislature.

From The Chron:

“Earlier this week, the Harris County Hospital District reported enough medication to treat just 300 adults and 100 children. Stocks were limited this week at Walgreens and CVS stores in Texas, but representatives for both retailers said the companies were sending more to Houston.”

“State reserves could have been larger. In 2007, the Texas Department of Health Services requested $34 million from the Legislature for antivirals to deal with a flu pandemic but received $10 million to purchase less than one-third of what was available to the state under a federal government discount program.”

So now we have politicians deciding what medications will be available to the public, huh? Why is it, I am always asking myself, that we have people making critical decisions for hundreds, thousands or millions of people, who are functionally unequipped to render proper judgment?

Just keep that in mind when you start seeing and hearing TV and radio ads produced by Republicans and the health industry lobby about how the communist Democrats want to pass health care reform legislation that will allow the government to interfere with your medical care.

That’s already happening, only it’s the people pointing the fingers who are doing it.

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