…this is an example of what happens with socialized medicine. It is the natural outcome when someone other than you is in charge.
From the article on the BBC site:
People who are not in an at-risk group should be banned from having private flu vaccinations, the chairman of the Royal College of GPs has said.
Dr Clare Gerada told the Daily Telegraph allowing healthy people to buy the flu jab had compounded NHS shortages and left others vulnerable.
…
The Department of Health said it could not prevent pharmacies from selling the vaccine commercially.
No, the problem isn’t that people wanted it and were willing to pay for it….the problem is that the government didn’t spend the money necessary to get enough. Why? Who knows. Perhaps someone didn’t think they needed another 10 million doses. Perhaps they didn’t have the money. Does it matter? The government system doesn’t have enough and people who were depending on someone else to do it for them will get left out.
Image from sullyt64 photography via flickr