We've seen this before.  The great United States of America can't provide   
   enough, or affordable medicines, for its own people and reaches across the   
   border for ours.   No bloody wonder the Democrats - and in particular Bernie   
   Sanders and   
   Elizabeth Warren - are running their campaigns with 'universal healthcare for   
   all' as their lead platform.     
   _________________________   
      
   Remember the flu vaccine shortage back in 2004?     
   ________________________   
      
   Americans head to Canada for flu shots        BISMARCK, N.D. —   
      
   With a shortage of flu vaccine across the country, Margaret Holmen and others   
   from the Powers Lake Senior Citizens Center have been talking about going to   
   Canada for their shots.   
      
   Clinics and pharmacies across the border are offering to innoculate U.S.   
   residents, and Holmen said she planned to call clinics in Estevan,   
   Saskatchewan, if she cannot get a flu shot in North Dakota this week.   
      
   “I suspect there will be a lot more,” said Larry Preddy, pharmacist and   
   co-owner of the store. He charges Americans the same price as Canadians —   
   $15 Canadian or about $12 U.S.   
   [- - -]   
      
   October 30, 2004   
   U.S. Group Heads to Canada for Flu Shots   
      
   Because of the shortage of flu vaccine in the United States, 260 people from   
   northern New York crossed the border into Canada and paid $25 each to get   
   their shots at a private clinic.  North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann   
   reports.   
      
   ________________________________   
   CBC News · Posted: May 20, 2019   
      
   Quiet resurgence: Americans coming north to fill prescriptions on the rise   
   again   
      
   'There's always potential for disruption of the Canadian supply'   
      
   Earlier this month, a group from Minnesota, calling themselves the Caravan to   
   Canada, made a trip to Ontario to buy insulin at a tenth of the U.S. price.   
      
   The reason prescription drugs cost less in Canada is because a federal agency   
   sets the maximum price a company can charge for patented drugs. In the U.S.,   
   drug companies are allowed to decide.   
      
   While Americans crossing the border to buy prescription drugs in Canada is   
   nothing new, pharmacists are seeing a quiet resurgence of the practice in   
   recent years.   
      
   But pharmacists on both sides of the border worry that will only create more   
   problems.   
   [- - -]   
   _______________________________   
   The Canadian Press · Posted: Jul 26, 2019   
      
   U.S. demand is threatening Canada's drug supply, groups warn feds   
      
   'Canadian medicine supply is not sufficient to support both Canadian and U.S.   
   consumers,' says joint letter   
      
   Concern over U.S. legislation that allows Americans to import cheaper   
   medicines from Canada has prompted more than a dozen organizations to urge the   
   federal government to safeguard the Canadian drug supply.   
      
   In a letter this week, the 15 groups representing patients, health   
   professionals, hospitals, and pharmacists warn Health Minister Ginette   
   Petitpas Taylor of the potential for increasing drug shortages.   
      
   "The Canadian medicine supply is not sufficient to support both Canadian and   
   U.S. consumers," the letter states. "The supply simply does not, and will not,   
   exist within Canada to meet such demands."   
      
   Faced with voter anger over the steep and rising costs of drugs in the U.S.,   
   several states — including Florida with the blessing of President Donald   
   Trump — have passed laws allowing residents to import drugs from Canada.   
      
   In the letter to Petitpas Taylor, the groups say the legislation could   
   exacerbate drug shortages that become an increasingly serious concern in the   
   Canadian health care system in recent years.   
   [. . . ]   
   _____________________________   
      
   If you're concerned about the issue of drugs being in short supply for   
   Canadians - or the price rising due to the shortages - write a note to the   
   Canadian Health Minister and cc a copy of the note to your own Provincial   
   health minister.  It's time the    
   Americans got smarter instead of just bragging that they are.   
      
   Minister of Health (Canada):   
      
   The Honourable Ginette C. Petitpas Taylor   
   Ginette.PetitpasTaylor@parl.gc.ca   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)