Why isn't the escalating drug shortage making more news?
According to an article in Daily Finance some common causes for the shortages include manufacturing difficulties, natural disasters that affect production, reductions in the supply of raw materials (of which 80% come from outside the U.S.), unexpected increases in demand, voluntary recalls, manufacturer business decisions, FDA enforcement actions to ensure public safety and artificial shortages due to stockpiling.
What should be done? Drug companies have always been regarded as cash cows; should they receive manufacturer incentives? Is this something the federal government should be concerned with?
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Legislators should be paying attention.
Probably the same reason massive food shortages worldwide haven’t been talked about much, or the predicted sharp increase in oil prices. They all point to a trend suggesting economic collapse similar to the Soviet Union or Argentina. Can’t have people realizing that.
The federal government is aware of it. From the FDA, “It is FDA’s policy to help prevent or alleviate shortages primarily of medically necessary drug products, since these can have significant public health consequences. A drug shortage may involve either an actual or a potential shortage of a drug product.”
I check out the websites of major agencies and departments of the US and other governments at least once a week. Probably sounds silly. But I do just to keep myself informed about things from a source other than the MSA. The FDA is one of those agncies. They have a list of current drug shortages on their site. I hope I don’t get slammed for this, but Glenn Beck has talked about tthe major shortages, including the drug shortage, on his televison show off and on for the last few months.
@incendiary_dan
You’re exactly right, and it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets any better.
@CaptainHarley There’s certainly a lot of potential for things to get bad. Part of my political writing involved examinations of collapse and how it relates to personal and community liberation and self-sufficiency, particularly in understanding how increased amounts of self-sufficiency an related issues like land access and food sovereignty might cause a softer sort of crash, as can be seen in different historical examples.
@incendiary_dan
I shall pray for a “soft crash” then. It would take a true miracle to stop ANY sort of crash now.
You and I seem to be on the same wavelength here.
@incendiary_dan I wish you could pull that out into a separate discussion. I’m icurious to know more about what you mean. If it is proper to discuss it here; I’m certainly interested.
@bkcunningham I’ll see what I can do. I write about collapse on my blog (which I haven’t updated lately, bad me) which might be a better venue for that sort of discussion. But if I can think of a good question to get the ball rolling, I will.
@incendiary_dan oh, okay. I see the link to it on your profile. I’ll have look. Thank you.
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