Thursday, September 21, 2006
PERHAPS TALIBANI WON'T GET THE FLU: THANKS ROD!
Our incompetent Boy Wonderless governor is under fire AGAIN for a scandal involving the purchase of flu vaccine in 2004 during the manufactured, media driven "shortage" of the drug. What was really an election year ploy by the dims is going to cost Illinois taxpayers several MILLION dollars. The bright lights in this current administration actually went ahead and signed a contract for the vaccines even after the federal government A) told them the purchase would not be allowed and was illegal and B) the federal government had already assured the state that they would make enough of the drug available to cover any shortages. What does Illinois do? Why, sign the contract anyway THEN they don't pay the bill and end up giving the purchased but not paid for flu vaccines to..............PAKISTAN. Wouldn't it be ironic as hell if our dear Governor Blagojevich was responsible for a wayward flu vaccine reaching Osama Bin Laden, perhaps in hiding in Pakistan, and keeping public enemy number one FLU FREE? What a joke. And not a funny one either.
But then again, neither is the importation of unnecessary pharmaceuticals from foreign countries which put state residents at risk both financially, legally and mortally!!!
Here's the story from the Chicago Tribune:
The auditor general also took issue with Blagojevich's ill-fated attempts to import flu vaccine to Illinois in the fall of 2004 after the federal government issued warnings of a possible shortage because of issues with a major supplier of vaccines to the United States.
Holland said Blagojevich's deputy governor, Bradley Tusk, and his special advocate for prescription drugs, Scott McKibbin, moved ahead with a plan to buy the vaccine from British medical wholesaler Ecosse Hospital Products Ltd. without federal approval and without a contract with the firm.
Holland said the effort to acquire flu vaccine continued even though "Illinois officials appeared to be aware that the vaccine would never be delivered".
The audit cited a Dec. 21, 2004, e-mail from McKibbin to the governor's office in which he wrote, "We probably will never take delivery of these doses so will need to find a way to pay for the 'service' they performed."
The audit also found that the governor's office persisted even though state public-health records from December 2004 showed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had located enough flu vaccine to cover Illinois' priority population.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
"There was no guidance or support offered by the federal government and time was certainly of the essence," she said. "We did everything we could to pull together the vaccine we would need to protect our population."
State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), who sponsored the resolution calling for Holland's audit of the programs, questioned why the contract was signed.
"They knew they didn't need it, they knew that it couldn't come in," he said.
State Comptroller Dan Hynes rejected the administration's request to pay for the shots, and the company now has a suit pending against Illinois for $2.6 million. The flu vaccine, which could not be imported, was eventually donated to Pakistan.
But then again, neither is the importation of unnecessary pharmaceuticals from foreign countries which put state residents at risk both financially, legally and mortally!!!
Here's the story from the Chicago Tribune:
The auditor general also took issue with Blagojevich's ill-fated attempts to import flu vaccine to Illinois in the fall of 2004 after the federal government issued warnings of a possible shortage because of issues with a major supplier of vaccines to the United States.
Holland said Blagojevich's deputy governor, Bradley Tusk, and his special advocate for prescription drugs, Scott McKibbin, moved ahead with a plan to buy the vaccine from British medical wholesaler Ecosse Hospital Products Ltd. without federal approval and without a contract with the firm.
Holland said the effort to acquire flu vaccine continued even though "Illinois officials appeared to be aware that the vaccine would never be delivered".
The audit cited a Dec. 21, 2004, e-mail from McKibbin to the governor's office in which he wrote, "We probably will never take delivery of these doses so will need to find a way to pay for the 'service' they performed."
The audit also found that the governor's office persisted even though state public-health records from December 2004 showed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had located enough flu vaccine to cover Illinois' priority population.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
"There was no guidance or support offered by the federal government and time was certainly of the essence," she said. "We did everything we could to pull together the vaccine we would need to protect our population."
State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), who sponsored the resolution calling for Holland's audit of the programs, questioned why the contract was signed.
"They knew they didn't need it, they knew that it couldn't come in," he said.
State Comptroller Dan Hynes rejected the administration's request to pay for the shots, and the company now has a suit pending against Illinois for $2.6 million. The flu vaccine, which could not be imported, was eventually donated to Pakistan.
