Letter to the Editor

The Jan. 9 Chronicle article "5 new suspected cases of bird flu in Turkey" raised the specter of a frightening pandemic, which could eventually reach the United States. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine available yet.

That is because our government has crippled the country's once-thriving vaccine industry. Litigation, regulation and price controls have strangled the industry's ability to prevent deadly diseases, including avian flu. Afraid of being sued and regulated to the point where they can't make a profit, U.S. drug companies have simply stopped making vaccines. Thirty years ago, there were 10 U.S. firms manufacturing flu vaccines. Now, there is only one.

The White House recently announced it will spend $7.1 billion, mostly on vaccines, to fight the avian flu. Ironically, it was overinvolvement by the government that destroyed the vaccine industry in the first place.

The real solution is to bring back the free market.

SALLY PIPES
president and CEO
Pacific Research Institute,
San Francisco, Calif.