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Against all odds

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Illinois

Give him his due, Governor Rod Blagojevich always finds a way to break through the media clutter, even a week before a presidential election. Yesterday, he “leaked” to every reporter in town a letter to the FDA asking permission to import some flu vaccines from Britain.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich says his administration has negotiated a tentative agreement to purchase at least 30,000 flu vaccinations from British wholesalers, but federal regulators must approve the deal.

Blagojevich’s office said a letter would be sent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Monday requesting its approval of the deal, which would allow the state to provide flu shots to Illinoisans at risk for serious complications from the flu.

The Illinois Department of Public Health would distribute the vaccinations to nursing home residents across the state, Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said.

Ottenhoff did not know how many of the state’s roughly 100,000 nursing home residents may have already received a flu shot. She said the new vaccinations would supplement the 35,000 doses the state is receiving from federal authorities for Medicaid patients.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 25, 04 @ 6:55 am

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