Flu Vaccine Case Study

Flu Vaccine Case Study

Case Study Introduction

The development and distribution of influenza vaccinations is a perennial topic in the U.S. This case study centers on the 2004-05 flu vaccine shortage following the contamination of more than 48 million vaccine doses.

The case happened 15 years ago but an old story can provide new insights. Now, as we are facing the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone is looking for new vaccines to stop the spread and save people’s lives. But uncertainty makes it difficult for us to further discuss the current event.  Through a retrospective lens, the case remains salient as it can help you think ahead of the issues of the COVID-19 vaccine. By immersing yourself in the real-word context, this case study will challenge you to think deeper about policy issues that blend market failure, the need to protect the public values, inter-organizational collaboration, administrative ethics, and government trust. Please note that reading materials from both Module 4 and Module 5 are important for this case study.  

Note: Some of the content of this case study are adapted from case literature written by Mary K. Feeney, Professor and Lincoln Professor of Ethics in Public Affairs at the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University. A special thank you to Dr. Feeney for her permission to reuse.

Case Study Reading List

Please select and use materials in the following list: (I purposefully create a situation of information overload for this case analysis. You may find that there are too many readings. In the real-word, information overload is a very common challenge for policy analysis, and you need to learn how to combat info-overload by summarizing and analyzing information.)

· The 2004-2005 U.S. Influenza Vaccine Shortage Timeline.

· General Accounting Office. 2004. Infectious Disease Preparedness: Federal Challenges in Responding to Influenza Outbreaks . Washington DC: United States General Accounting Office.

· Congressional Research Service. 2004. Influenza Vaccine Shortages and Implications.  Washington DC: United States Congressional Research Service

· Testimony Video on Influenza Vaccine Shortage (Links to an external site.)  (Witnesses testified about the shortage of flu vaccine in the U.S. in front of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee in Nov. 2004)

· All other articles listed in the references

Assignment Questions (Two required questions) 

Question One (15 pts): In the wake of the 2004-2005 flu vaccine shortage, we are convening a task force to develop a strategic plan for addressing the issues presented in this case. It is your task to discuss and propose policies to ensure that the 2004-05 flu vaccine shortage does not happen again. The task force consists of five characters that are listed below.

Characters:

A. Michael Bloomberg: You are the mayor of New York City. Your primary interest is to ensure that high-risk individuals receive the vaccine.

B. Alex Smith: You are a public health expert working with the Centers for Disease Control. Your primary interest is developing rules and procedures for managing flu vaccine production and distribution.

C. Sam Jones: You are a representative of the Association of Retirement Homes. You are concerned about getting cheap (or free) vaccines to the elderly of the nation. You are also concerned about the distribution issues involved in getting the vaccines to all those in need.

D. Kelly North: You are a strict libertarian who firmly believes that the government needs to butt out and allow the market to determine vaccine production and distribution.

E. Tony Brown: You are the leader of the American Coalition for Universal Healthcare. You want the government to ensure that vaccines will be available, annually, to all citizens, not just those that are high risk. 

You are required to role-play one (1) character. Based on the role you choose, you have to prepare a brief statement (300 - 500 words) to identify the problem(s) (if any) that you want to address in front of the task force meeting. APA in-text citations of related assigned readings in Module 4 and 5 are required. (Please spell & grammar check)

In the brief statement, 

· You have to introduce the role you choose to play in.

· You have to clearly outline your views of these problems and demonstrate your understanding of the matter.

· You have to offer potential solutions to the problems. You should provide strong arguments and explain why your supported solutions can prevent future shortages. Don’t forget your role.

Some of the goals you should keep in mind will include, but not be limited to:

1. Ensuring sufficiency in the availability of public goods (Module 5 readings, see lecture note for hits.)

2. Protecting the public interests (Module 5 readings, see lecture note for hits. )   

3. Ensuring service efficiency  (Module 4 readings)

4. Promoting public service values (Module 4 readings)

Question Two (5 pts): Lessons for the manufacturing, production, and distribution of coronavirus vaccines.

“Researchers around the world are developing more than 145 vaccines against the coronavirus, and 21 vaccines are in human trials. Vaccines typically require years of research and testing before reaching the clinic, but scientists are racing to produce a safe and effective vaccine by next year.” (NY Times, 2020 (Links to an external site.) )

If a vaccine becomes available, how to quickly scale up vaccine manufacturing, production, and distribution? Please specify at least two lessons that you can draw from this case study (150 - 250 words).