ATLANTA – Expecting rising demand for flu shots, pharmaceutical companies are gearing up to produce as many as 120 million doses of vaccine for the next flu season. That far surpasses the record of 95 million doses produced in 2002.
Vaccine makers say their expectation seems warranted for a number of reasons, including public fears of bird flu, better government reimbursement for shots and indications that federal health officials may one day recommend flu shots for nearly everyone.
The manufacturers’ projections could mean an end to the shortages that have worried patients and health care workers for the past three autumns.
D.C.: Patriot Act talks bog down
Efforts to resolve House and Senate differences over a revised USA Patriot Act have reached a stalemate, House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., said Tuesday. That means the current version of the law is likely to remain in place through next month or longer unless Senate Democrats and a handful of Republicans drop their demands for greater privacy safeguards in a proposed renewal, he said.
Doctor may testify in terror case
Lawyers for admitted terrorist conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui want to call a doctor who will testify he has a major mental disorder, likely schizophrenia, in their bid to save him from the death penalty, according to court filings. Defense lawyers have long indicated they would like to introduce psychological testimony on his behalf – despite his insistence that he’s perfectly sane. Moussaoui is the only person who has been charged in the United States as part of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Utah: Mormon leader has surgery
Gordon Hinckley, the 95-year-old president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, underwent surgery in Salt Lake City on Tuesday to remove a cancerous growth on his large intestine, church officials said. The growth was found during a routine medical screening, the church said in a statement Tuesday night. Hinckley was expected to recover rapidly and resume his normal duties, the church’s statement said.
Illinois: Fish oil may not help cancer
Fish oil, seen as beneficial for reducing heart disease risks, probably doesn’t help prevent cancer, according to a review of studies involving more than 700,000 patients. Researchers examined data from 38 studies that tracked patients for up to 30 years, and said most showed there is no cancer protection from omega-3 fatty acids. Although a few studies found some risk reduction for cancers of the breast, prostate and lung, those studies were relatively small and not definitive, said Dr. Catherine MacLean in Chicago, the lead author. The study appears in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association. It was funded by the government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
West Virginia: Miner responding
The sole survivor of an explosion that killed 12 men at a West Virginia coal mine is responding to simple commands as he continues to emerge from a light coma, doctors said Tuesday. Randal McCloy Jr., 26, can now follow movements with his eyes, but he remains unable to speak, Dr. Larry Roberts said.
Florida: Death row inmate wins stay
A death row inmate in Starke won a stay from the Supreme Court Tuesday night about an hour after he was scheduled to be executed for killing a police officer. Clarence Hill claimed he is mentally retarded and also challenged the state’s use of execution drugs as cruel. It was not clear if the court’s intervention would only briefly delay Hill’s execution to give justices additional time to review stay requests. The execution was put off for more than an hour before word came from the court.
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