Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 13, 1993 TAG: 9302130121
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ARLINGTON LENGTH: Medium
VACCINE PROGRAM PROMISED
President Clinton announced on Friday a $300 million program to make vaccines available to a million more American children, and sharply reproved U.S. drug companies for charging "unconscionable" prices."Our nation is the only industrialized nation in the entire world that does not guarantee childhood vaccinations for all children," Clinton said after visiting a community clinic that offers free shots. "It ought to be like clean water and clear air. It ought to be a part of the fabric of our life."
He had strong words for the nation's drug makers, saying it was a "cruel irony" that American pharmaceutical companies make most of the world's vaccines but charge more for them here than they do in other countries.
Only about half of America's 2-year-olds are fully vaccinated, and the rate is as low as 10 percent in some inner-city areas, according to federal health experts. In the Western Hemisphere, only Bolivia and Haiti have lower immunization rates than the United States.
Clinton, accompanied by his wife, Hillary, promised his economic stimulus package would include an extra $300 million to promote immunization efforts this year at clinics in underserved urban and rural areas. He also promised increased federal financing.
In addition, he directed Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala to negotiate with drug companies to make sure states and federally assisted health programs can buy vaccines at "reasonable" prices. He accused pharmaceutical companies of refusing to make vaccines available to many states at affordable rates, even for bulk purchases.
"Compared to other countries, our prices are shocking," Clinton said. "We must tell the drug companies to change those priorities. We cannot have profits at the expense of our children."
Overall, he said, vaccine prices have risen at six times the rate of inflation over the past 10 years, at a time when drug companies are spending more on advertising and lobbying than they do to develop new drugs.