National News

Flu Shots for Wall Street Stirs Ire in New York

Thu Nov 05 23:44:13 UTC 2009

By Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City health officials scrambled to explain themselves on Thursday in the wake of media reports about bankers who got scarce H1N1 flu vaccines through their employers.

Members of Congress fired off letters demanding immediate explanations and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reminded state and city health officers of the need to make sure the most vulnerable people get shots first.

"I am concerned that the distribution of the vaccine is resulting in favored treatment for the privileged," New Jersey Democratic Representative Frank Pallone said.

A shortage of H1N1 vaccines has frayed nerves, and public health departments across the country say they will not be able to meet the bulk of the demand until December or January.

The CDC estimates swine flu has infected more than five million people and it is documented as having killed 1,000.

The federal government, which is buying the vaccines and distributing them for free to 62 state and city health departments, says 35.6 million doses have been made and packaged since production began.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, a Democrat, released a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius saying he was "stunned" at the reports.

"I implore you to use whatever authorities you have to ensure that H1N1 vaccines already distributed but not yet used are promptly redirected to hospitals, schools, community health clinics, school-based health clinics, and pediatricians so that they can be made immediately available to at-risk members of the public as identified by the Department," Dodd wrote.

CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden sent out a reminder to state and city health departments that distribute vaccine.

"I ask each of you to review your plans immediately and work to ensure that the maximum number of doses is delivered to those at greatest risk as rapidly as possible," he wrote.

"I especially appreciate the many innovative ways you've found to reach them, including school-located vaccine clinics, special clinics for pregnant women, outreach to children with special needs, and making vaccine available to community- and faith-based organizations serving these high-risk populations."

Close to 160 million people are in the priority groups to get vaccine first -- healthcare workers, pregnant women, children and adults under 65 with medical conditions, caregivers for infants too young to be vaccinated and people 24 and younger.

"When H1N1 vaccine first became available in the fall, we directed all available doses to pediatricians, OB-GYNs, community health centers, public and private hospitals," New York City health department spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti said in a telephone interview.

"As more vaccine became available we started to place small orders to providers that serve adults, including employee health centers."

She said the city had given 800,000 doses to about 1,100 providers, with Lenox Hill Hospital, for example, getting 1,200 doses and banking firm Goldman Sachs getting 200 of the 5,300 doses it asked for, Scaperotti said.

She said 16 of the city's 25 biggest employers had vaccine, including Columbia University, Citi Group and others, as well as the Federal Reserve Bank, which is not among the top 25 employers.

Morgan Stanley said it received 500 doses of the vaccine for its New York City locations and 500 doses for its Westchester location in suburban New York.

"We never thought we would receive doses ahead of area hospitals and once this was brought to our attention, we promptly donated the doses we received to a few area hospitals," including Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital in New York, a company spokeswoman said.

(Reporting by Bill Berkrot, Dan Wilchins and Maggie Fox, editing by Alan Elsner, Eric Walsh and Paul Simao)

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Solar Glut Temporary, Demand to Catch Up in 2012

Tom Johansmeyer

Nov 14th 2009 at 7:00PM

The oversupply problem plaguing the solar panel industry may be coming to a close. A glut of panels caused prices to plunge this year, calling into question the future of the industry, as well as the individual fortunes of manufacturers. An increase in demand from Germany is helping to consume the excess inventory on the market, according to a new report by research firm iSuppli, which should provide some support to the manufacturers.

Close to half of all solar panels manufactured this year will not be sold in 2009, iSuppli says, and it forecasts that the glut will continue until 2012. In August, the company pegged oversupply at 92% for 2009, but it recently revised the overage rate to 66%.

Among the culprits is the Spanish government, which changed its feed-in tariff policies, leading to a substantial decline in demand for a market that accounted for 50% of worldwide solar panel installations. This triggered buildups throughout the supply chain. Nonetheless, manufacturers continued to construct, making the situation worse.

As the industry adjusts, production is expected to flatten from 2011 through 2013 compared to previous predictions. By the end of 2009, solar panel production will increase by 14.3% to 7.5 Gigawatts, from 6.5GW in 2008. But, only 3.9GW of installations will occur this year. As a result, close to half of all panels will be stored for a rainy (sunny?) day. An expected acceleration of demand after 2012 will absorb the excess inventory and lead to more production.

Despite the current situation, many manufacturers aren't pulling back on supply in order to maintain their market shares. Suntech Power (STP), Sharp (SHCAY) and JA Solar (JASO), according to iSuppli, will continue to grow with the broader photovoltaic industry. Suntech will become the top producer of crystalline cells this year, according to iSuppli predictions, with Sharp, Yingli Green Energy Holding Co (YGE) and JA Solar staying in the top five. Meanwhile, Q-Cells (QCLSF), SunPower (SPWRA) and BP Solar have adjusted their production in the face of softening demand.

Yingli's profit for the past quarter beat expectations, with demand in Europe outpacing supply. Q-Cells expects 2010 to be strong, thanks to cost cutting and an expected increase in demand.

The oversupply situation could be addressed in 2010 because of demand in Germany. According to Henning Wicht, senior director of photovoltaics research at iSuppli, "Solar-panel installations in Germany began surging to record levels in July as prices for photovoltaic systems plunged." He continues, "This phenomenon has boosted the global solar panel business and mitigated the severe oversupply situation that has stung the industry throughout this year."

The situation in the solar panel sector is reminiscent of Internet capacity availability in the late 1990s. There was no shortage of fiber, most of it remaining dark. It just took consumption time to catch up with existing capability. Solar is next, and iSuppli expects the need to expand to capacity – just give it a little time.