Jim Inhofe: “there was a lot of hysteria a short time ago about the flu vaccine and the fact it was not available to a lot of people.…”

“there was a lot of hysteria a short time ago about the flu vaccine and the fact it was not available to a lot of people. There are several problems. One, the flu vaccine production currently takes approximately 6 months. I am introducing a bill that will expedite that and will have the sense of the Senate to steer the NIH research dollars toward the development of faster technology. They are using egg cultures to grow this vaccine when it can be done through the cells of silk moths. It will take more research to get there and we will encourage them to do that. Second, the bill removes price controls for the purchasing of the flu vaccine. This happened during the Clinton administration. We should have learned during the Nixon administration that price controls in reality do not work. The result of this has been that we do not have many companies now that are willing to get in there and take the risk and develop and manufacture these vaccines. As soon as they do, they find out there is no profit at the other end because of price controls. Lastly, we allow investment tax credits. I have long been dedicated to quality healthcare for my constituents in Oklahoma and across America.”