Tamiflu stockpiles

[Productivity]

Building on from the corruption thread and the recent Katrina threads, I did a google about Tamiflu (what is viewed as the most effective way to combat avian influenza) stockpiles. This site came up, with references, so I'm going to go on it's numbers.

Useful numbers,

US - 2.3m doses, pop 295m (approx) so less than 1% coverage.

France - 14m doses (planned for end of 2005), pop ~60m so around 25% coverage.

UK - 14.6m doses over the next two years, pop~60m so around 25% coverage again.

New Zealand - 835,000 doses by end of the year, pop~4m so around 20% coverage.

Australia - 3.5m doses, pop~20m, so around 17% coverage.


Now given these numbers (and especially to those in the US given the low coverage rates), do you think there is a fair chance of you actually getting access to those doses after essential services have taken theirs? Or is it going to go to politicians families, corporate families etc. with only token amounts dribbling down? Personally I can see politicians getting access to it (to preserve leadership) along with all essential services, but beyond that I think everyone should have an equal chance at it. Do you think there is any hope that everyone will have an equal chance, or is the average citizen of your nation going to be scrapping at what's left over?

[Kaiser of Arabia]

I get the flu almost every year, so no.

[Productivity]

I get the flu almost every year, so no.

So do I but that's not what I'm talking about. You don't need tamiflu for that as demonstrated by you posting here.

[Tribesman]

Ireland has numbers similar to the US , doses for about 1% of the population .
Though they do have plans , the plan is that 50% of medical staff may be affected , so the health service will be functioning at an even worse level than usual .
Which is probably why they are not bothering to increase the stocks as people will probably only recieve the vaccination 3 years after they are dead .

[bmolsson]

There are going to be a rush for it for sure. Already happening here in Indonesia...

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

I heard that a bunch of Chinese chicken farmers had been pumping (human) vaccines into their chickens like nobodys' business thus buggering up the usefulness of potentially helpful vaccines.

Or so the story went.