Not all drugs with only one manufacturer are a monopoly. That's why some of single source drugs are lower priced. If an alternative drug is available from another manufacturer, there's competition; many equivalent drugs, especially generic equivalents, means real competition.
On the other hand, if a new cancer drug works for only a few months or years, and then stops working - the case with most cancer medicines - then even if there are multiple meds EACH drug remains a monopoly. Because we want to try each drug and prolong life the most we can.
We had 5 months of declining deaths after vaccines. After all, the proportion who were unvaccinated & susceptible existed during these months as well. But delta was just settling in
Once delta established itself, we are at >2000 deaths/day.
Whatever protection we had against original strain of Covid, disappeared with delta. delta was more transmissible. Taking off masks too early didn't help.
Deaths are very high with delta, but we would have faced a much bigger crisis without vaccines.
Based on Israel study on effect of vaccines in reducing deaths and hospitalizations, and knowing what happened in India, we probably saved >100,000 lives in the US because of vaccinations. thelancet.com/journals/lanin…
The FDA seems to have been more lenient on who should get the booster dose than the CDC panel. How's is that going to play out?
Unlike the FDA, the CDC panel has not recommended a booster for those at high risk of occupational exposure. Something that an FDA advisory panel unanimously voted to recommend to the FDA. And the FDA obliged.
So we have an FDA approved EUA indication that is not recommended by the CDC panel.
Unless CDC director revises it, I think it will be interesting how this plays out for healthcare workers and teachers.