Bird flu death in Thailand, more suspected cases in Europe

Since the arrival in Turkey and Romania, suspected cases have also been reported in Greece, Macedonia and Russia. It is still early days with the virus impacting humans but it is anybodies guess when it will mutate and become considerably more dangerous. The big problem is that the rich countries are trying to stockpile the vaccine now, when the problem is starting to spread beyond SE Asia. The problem is that the vaccine is owned by Roche who are unable to just mix up a batch and deliver it. The vaccine takes many months to produce so even if they started today, they could not produce enough to meet global demand. Sure, through negotiations and pressure from world governments Roche will probably be convinced/paid to allow other drug producers to manufacture additional supplies but this too will take many months.

Once again, why did the Bush administration wait so long to start this process and set such low goals for something that will save Americans when the flu arrives?