Flu vaccine smuggling thwarted in New Jersey

SOMERS POINT, N.J. -- A New Jersey hospital helped thwart an attempted sale of smuggled flu vaccine, authorities said.

"From the initial contact, it lit us up like a Christmas tree," said Albert Gutierrez, Shore Memorial Hospital's president and CEO.

Shore Memorial was approached this month with an offer to buy 8,000 doses of vaccine through unfamiliar channels. Instead, hospital officials called authorities.

The cost of the smuggled doses was not immediately known. A vial with about 10 flu shots normally costs around $80, but there have been reports of price-gouging where the asking price was as much as $600.

The vaccine was apparently brought into the United States in an ill-fated attempt to capitalize on the national shortage occurring after the United States' supply this season was cut in half because of contamination at a British plant.

"It's despicable," Gutierrez said. "It gets me angry."

No arrests had been made in the case by Tuesday evening.

The vaccine was intercepted by authorities when it arrived in the United States through a commercial shipping company, said Marc Raimondi, spokes-man for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

"We feel pretty confident this is the only shipment with this investigation," Raimondi said. And none entered the nation's supply of vaccine, Raimondi said.

The vaccine was authentic but did not have clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Raimondi said.

Even authentic vaccine that's not handled according to strict protocol and kept at the right temperature can be ineffective -- or can cause either localized infections or infections throughout a person's bloodstream.

"You could get very sick," Gutierrez said.