LEWISTON – Like a lot of nursing home administrators, Russell Park administrator Kenneth Taylor is worried about the national flu vaccination shortage.

All of his nursing home residents will get flu shots in two or three weeks, but the assisted-living residents may go without, as will all his workers. “Many of our direct-care staff are younger people with young children. They get the flu,” Taylor said, adding that unvaccinated workers could bring the flu to Russell Park.

Russell Park became a presidential campaign stop Thursday as John Kerry’s brother, Cam Kerry, spoke there promising that a flu shot shortage would be a thing of the past if his brother is elected. The Kerry-Edwards campaign blamed President Bush for the shortage, saying the administration allowed it to happen.

Kevin Schweers of the Maine Republican Party fired back, saying that “runaway lawsuits” against drug makers have discouraged production, and that Kerry has opposed steps to rein in litigation costs.

Standing in front of Russell Park’s nursing station, Cam Kerry said that like Iraq and the economy, the flu shot shortage is “one more George Bush failure that he’s unwilling to accept responsibility.” The shortage was preventable, he said, adding that the government wasn’t paying attention and let the manufacturers do what they wanted.

“It’s extraordinarily ironic that George Bush won’t allow American citizens to import drugs from Canada, but he wants to import drugs to bail out this problem that his administration has created.” Cam Kerry, who resembles his older brother, sounded like him when he added: “We can do better.”

A Kerry administration would crack down on price gouging, encourage voluntary donations, and offer manufacturers a buyback program if they end up with too much supply. Long-term, Kerry would establish a strategic reserve of flu vaccine and stimulate production with multiple manufacturers rather than only the two the nation now has, according to Cam Kerry.

“Part of the reason this occurred is we put all our eggs in two baskets,” Kerry said. “When Chiron fell out of the picture, the American people got stuck.”

The Republican spokesman said the fault of the flu shot shortage lies with Kerry, not the president.

“As with so many other issues, Kerry is part of the problem, not part of solution,” Schweers said. Profits for vaccine manufactures are small, he said. Adding to their costs is “excessive litigation. Right now this is a $6 billion business, but pending lawsuits total $30 million. Rather than working with the president to address this,” Kerry and Edwards have opposed legislation to provide manufacturers “modest protection” from damages, he said.