Collins Demands Explanation for H1N1 Vaccine Shortage

from MPBN:

Maine Senator Susan Collins is demanding to know why there are shortages of the H1N1 vaccine. Collins sent a letter Monday to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, asking her to explain why there are fewer doses of the vaccine than federal officials had originally projected.

Collins, the ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, questioned why some of the vaccines won't arrive until after people have become infected with the virus.

In her letter, Collins said the tight supplies of the H1N1 vaccine is "alarming." She said HHS originally projected 40 million doses of the vaccine by the end of October, and only 28 to 30 million doses have materialized.

"I am troubled that HHS has assured the public since August that the government would have enough vaccine to meet demand," Collins writes in the letter. "It now appears that much of the vaccine could arrive only after many people have already been infected with H1N1."

Read the full letter >>