Vaccine shortage 'could have been averted'

NEW YORK, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Medical experts have said the United States' flu shot shortage could have been prevented, the New York Times reported Sunday.

"We're in the middle of a crisis that could have been averted," said Dr. Irwin Redlener, associate dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and director of its national center for disaster preparedness.

Public health experts have long cautioned against the country's dependence on only two major vaccine manufacturers, yet the government made no changes to the practice. By contrast, Britain spreads the order for flu vaccines among five suppliers in order to avoid problems like those faced by the United States, the Times said.

Between November 2000 and May 2003, 8 of the 11 major vaccines for childhood diseases in the United States faced shortages, including those for tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, measles, mumps and chicken pox. There have been flu vaccine shortages for the past four consecutive years.