OPINION:
The federal government needs to look strategically at how they spend taxpayer cash on medical technology. They should consider the efficient allocation of medicine and safety when setting priorities. We have come a long way since an extra vaccine was tossed in the trash and medical professionals learned there was massive destruction of unused vaccines for no good reason.
In December of 2020, pharmacists discovered extra doses in glass vials that were supposed to contain five doses of the Pfizer vaccine and did not know what to do with this extra medicine. Politico reported on December 16, 2020, that “pharmacists have found a way to squeeze extra doses out of vials of Pfizer’s vaccine, potentially expanding the nation’s scarce supply by up to 40 percent.” The New York Times reported the same day, “As boxes of Pfizer vaccines began arriving around the country this week, hospital pharmacists made a surprising discovery: Some of the glass vials that are supposed to hold five doses contained enough for a sixth — or even a seventh — person.” This was when pharmacists threw away leftovers because they were worried about violating the strict rules the government set down for distributing the vaccines.
It makes no sense to continue to throw away our precious pharmaceutical resources. The U.S. government has an important interest in conserving medicines when they are so expensive. Much of the cost of these medicines are passed onto taxpayers through COVID-19 relief packages and government-funded health care programs.
While pharmaceutical companies create the most advanced injectable medicines in record time, the technology used to deliver the medication is subpar. Bad syringe technology is a problem that needs to be addressed.
The needle and syringe combination determines the number of doses obtained from a vial. The number of doses determines the number of lives saved. With expensive injectable medication, eliminating waste can significantly impact pricing. Concerning the safety angle, the needle and syringe determine the instances of blood-borne disease from patient to doctor or patient to patient.
Practically all the syringes used to inject patients have a flaw. When drawing medicine from a vial, the medicine first fills spaces that can’t be reached when injecting the patient. This amount is thrown away with every inefficient injection. Up to 40% of this lifesaving treasure is thrown in the garbage.
Every pharmaceutical company fills their vial for the correct number of doses and then adds an amount that makes up for the wasted space in inefficient syringes. Not knowing what syringe will be used, they must overfill the vial anticipating the use of the most inefficient design.
An answer to this problem is for the U.S. government to invest in safe syringes made in America. One company well known for producing something called the Ultra-Low Waste Smart Safety Syringes is the American company Sharps Technology. Sharps reports a 40% increase of doses obtained from a 5-dose vial with better syringe technology, thereby bumping the number of doses to 7 doses with no increase in the amount of vaccine manufactured. One can eliminate waste with a more efficient syringe.
This is not merely a problem with the COVID-19 vaccine. With certain specialty injectable medicines, the overfill is more than 100% of the required dose. The onset of a new pandemic is a matter of when not if. We must be ready for the next great health crisis and learn some lessons about the delicate balance Americans will tolerate between the health of the American people and the level of tolerance for government-mandated restrictions. An important part of our strategy must include moving America’s medical supply chain out of China, where many inefficient, unsafe cheap syringes originate, and back to the United States.
Our health care workers deserve the very best medical tools to guarantee their safety, and frontline workers can be protected using safe needles to eliminate accidental needle stick injuries. Sharps also has built-in protections in the Ultra-Low Waste Smart Safety Syringes that address safety.
High-quality “Made in America” medical technology is a good health care policy that will save lives, eliminate waste, and protect health care workers.
- Jerry Rogers is the editor of RealClearHealth and the host of The Jerry Rogers Show on WBAL NewsRadio.
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