# Debunk: Email links influenza vaccine shortage with Edwards liability suit **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 20, 2004, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-email-links-influenza-vaccine-shortage-with-edwards-liability-suit/270248 "2004-10-20T17:50:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-email-links-influenza-vaccine-shortage-with-edwards-liability-suit/270248/1 "2004-10-20T17:50:00Z")
Snopes and Google searches yielded nothing. > [@](#): > > Subject: Flu Shot Info > > Subject: Flu Shot Info > > How the vaccine works: > > Influenza vaccine is produced by growing the virus in eggs. The virus is > killed and processed to create the vaccine, which is given by injection > under the skin. The body then produces antibodies to the virus over the > next two to four weeks. If the immunized person then comes into contact with > the influenza virus, the antibodies attack and kill the virus before it has a > chance to cause infection. The vaccine contains the 3 most likely strains > to be active during the “flu season” > > Why the shortage: > > Almost half of the nation’s flu vaccine will not be delivered this year. > Chiron, a major manufacturer of flu vaccine, will not be distributing any > influenza vaccine this flu season. Chiron was to make 46-48 million doses > vaccine for the United States. Chiron is a British company. Recently > British health officials stopped Chiron from distributing and making the vaccine > when inspectors found unsanitary conditions in the labs. Some lots of the > vaccine were recalled and destroyed. > > Why is our vaccine made in the UK and not the US? > > The major pharmaceutical companies in the US provided almost 90% of the > nations flu vaccine at one time. They did this despite a very low profit > margin for the product. Basically, they were doing us a favor. In the late > 80’s a man from North Carolina who had received the vaccine got the flu. > > Thestrain he caught was one of the strains in that years vaccine made by a US > company. What did he do? He sued and he won. He was awarded almost $5 > million! After that case was appealed and lost, most US pharmaceutical > companies stopped making the vaccine. The liability out weighed the profit > margin. Since UK and Canadian laws prohibit such frivolous law suits UK > and Canadian companies began selling the vaccine in the US. > > By the way…the lawyer that represented the man in the flu shot law suit > was a young ambulance chaser by the name of John Edwards. My BS detector is going haywire. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-email-links-influenza-vaccine-shortage-with-edwards-liability-suit/270248/2 "2004-10-20T18:02:31Z")
I don’t really know why there’s a shortage of flu vaccine. Manufacturing delay or something, I think. But, I’ll say that if it’s true that John Edwards represented someone in this lawsuit, I’d guess that the “description” provided is not the whole story. Kind of like that lady who sued McDonald’s for the hot coffee: the short story is, “So this lady buys a coffee and then the doofus spills it on herself. She sues McDonald’s and wins! Can you freakin’ believe it???” Anyone who has actually done the most minimal of research into the coffee lawsuit will see that the situation was much different than that little sound bite. Maybe someone did get a bad vaccine or got the flu or whatever. I’d just guess there’s a lot more to the story than “idiot initiates frivolous lawsuit, wins millions, ruins it for every other person who wants a flu shot.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-email-links-influenza-vaccine-shortage-with-edwards-liability-suit/270248/3 "2004-10-20T18:02:32Z")
Duplicate topic. I’ll close this one and direct replies to [Debunk this flu shot dis-information glurge, please](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=281934). **DrMatrix** - GQ Moderator