Please convert these bullet points to a detailed paragraph!

Background and Facts:

• Influenza causes about 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations in the United States and costs the country more than $83.3 billion each year.

• Flu vaccines are usually distributed between October and November to prepare for peak flu season which peaks in February

• The CDC recommends that as many as 185 million Americans receive flu vaccines of which half are considered high risk.

• 2000-2001- demand of vaccines was greater than the supply

• 2001-2002 - demand of vaccines was greater than supply

• 2003-2004-demand was greater than supply when it was discovered that 87 million doses of the vaccine were for the wrong flu strain

• 2004-2005- Chiron and Aventis were the only two U.S. producers of the influenza vaccine

• It was discovered during an FDA inspection that Chirons plant in Liverpool had a bacterial contamination

• The Medicines and Healthcare products Agency, to the FDAs surprise, suspended Chirons license

• FDA announces none of Chiron's vaccines can be salvaged

• Reports of price gouging begin to appear

• CDC recommends that those at risk receive the vaccine first

• District of Columbia reserves vaccines for high risk patients

• The CDC creates a panel to investigate the ethical distribution of the vaccine

• The Flu action Task Force was created by the federal government to manage the federal vaccine supply.

• The federal government looked over seas for additional vaccine supplies

• The federal government diverted 300,000 doses from federal employees to high risk individuals

• The United States purchased 1.2 million doses from Germany at a higher cost

• Rod Watson canceled flu shot clinics, by December had an excess of doses.