Just when I thought the demonstration of governmental stupidity had reached its pinnacle with the current financial crisis, this morning provides evidence that there may be no limit to their stupidity.
This morning the Associated Press informs the world that the United States bars the export of certain vaccines to countries officially labeled as state sponsors of terrorism.
US controls bird flu vaccines over bioweapon fears
Robin McDowell
… deep inside an 86-page supplement to United States export regulations is a single sentence that bars U.S. exports of vaccines for avian bird flu and dozens of other viruses to five countries designated “state sponsors of terrorism.”
The reason: Fear that they will be used for biological warfare.
Under this little-known policy, North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Syria and Sudan may not get the vaccines unless they apply for special export licenses, which would be given or refused according to the discretion and timing of the U.S. Three of those nations — Iran, Cuba and Sudan — also are subject to a ban on all human pandemic influenza vaccines as part of a general U.S. embargo.
The regulations, which cover vaccines for everything from Dengue fever to the Ebola virus, have raised concern within the medical and scientific communities. Although they were quietly put in place more than a decade ago, they could now be more relevant because of recent concerns about bird flu. Officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they were not even aware of the policies until contacted by The Associated Press last month and privately expressed alarm.
This would be hysterically funny if it were not such a blatant example of the state of clueless ignorance governmental policy makers often suffer. If Sudan or North Korea or Iran wishes to turn H5N1 into a bio-weapon they only have to wait for the next outbreak in their own country. By using the “home grown” virus a great deal of money would be saved, to say nothing of trial and error and time, by not having to reverse engineer an inactivated vaccine that only includes part of the virus’ genetic material.
Even yersiniosis pestis 1 and anthrax exist in many regions of the world naturally. The US itself harbors a natural reservoir of plague bacteria. In other words, although these pathogens might be extremely dangerous to human beings H5N1, plague, and anthrax are not rare and exotic, and would not be difficult for a would-be terrorist or state sponsor of terrorism to acquire.
The restrictions on the export of vaccines is not only a demonstration of ignorance of reality it is also morally and ethically repugnant. Since an individual or nation wishing to acquire these pathogens can easily do so, the only thing gained by such restrictions is the endangerment of human lives.
I find that endangerment, or potential endangerment, nothing less than an act of terrorism itself. A state sponsored act of terrorism against defenseless civilians no less. Safe and efficacious vaccines are not produced in abundance in most countries, many countries rely on importation to fill their needs. One need only look to the problems of pharmaceuticals produced in China and India, and specifically the problems with Chinese vaccines, to realize there are genuine dangers from tapping [some] alternative markets.
This snip from Patents, Biomedical Research. and Treatments: Examining Concerns, Canvassing Solutions 2 Josephine Johnston , Angela A. Wasunna:
Health systems must also seek to ensure that available treatments meet quality standards. Surveys from several developing countries show that 10 to 20 percent of sampled drugs fail quality control tests. Fewer than one in three developing countries are estimated to have fully functioning drug regulatory authorities, which is part of the reason that growing numbers of fake drugs are entering these countries. Between 25 and 50 percent of medicines sold in the developing world are estimated by WHO to be counterfeit. Further, a World Bank study found that “inefficiencies in the procurement, storage, prescribing, and use of drugs are so extensive … that consumers in some countries get the benefits of only $12 worth of drugs for each $100 spent on drugs by the public.”
[snip from today's AP article]
U.S. Commerce Assistant Secretary Christopher Wall declined to elaborate on the precise threat posed by vaccines for chickens infected with avian influenza, except to say there are “valid security concerns” that they “do not fall into the wrong hands.”
“Legitimate public health and scientific research is not adversely affected by these controls,” he said.
These restrictions need immediate rescinding, or U.S. Commerce Assistant Secretary Christopher Wall should explain, with a great deal of specificity, exactly how these policies do not adversely affect public health and scientific research.
BioPort was successful in getting its anthrax vaccine removed from the “dual use” list:
… when BioPort sought to export its anthrax vaccine, BioThrax, the U.S. Department of Defense claimed the vaccine was primarily of military importance and should therefore fall under International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Under ITAR, export of the vaccine is controlled by the Department of State and a license is required for each sale. BioPort succeeded in arguing that its product was non-military in nature and therefore belonged under Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Exportation under EAR is controlled by the Department of Commerce and has far fewer restrictions. [Link]
But BioPort has many “friends in high places”3, perhaps friends not shared by the manufacturers of H5N1 vaccines.
SZ
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