Swine flu, or H1N1, has been sweeping the United States over the course of 2009. Many have come down with virus and a few deaths have been reported. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have been sounding the alarm – stating the virus will reach pandemic proportions perhaps.
In response to the emergency, a vaccine has been developed to inoculate people from the virus. However, vaccines are not as profitable to drug companies as other drugs – without immunity from lawsuits, they are unwilling to manufacture the vaccine.
Therefore, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius signed a declaration* in June giving vaccine makers and federal officials immunity from any lawsuits that may arise. The demand for the immunity guarantee was spurred by the thousands of lawsuits filed after the last swine flu outbreak in 1976.
At that time, cases of swine flu appeared in soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey which prompted concerns of health officials. Over 40 million inoculations were administered – while a pandemic never materialized, thousands who received the shots filed lawsuits, claiming the vaccine caused them to suffer a paralyzing condition known as Guillain-Barre syndrome along with other side effects.
Secretary Sebelius’ declaration creates a compensation fund if needed for tort claims against drug manufacturers. Five manufacturers have contracted with the federal government to produce the vaccine.
However, since the government most likely will campaign to inoculate as many people as possible, some question whether these people will be protected legally if they’re harmed by the vaccine.
*Courtesy of Carrie Strasser of Injury Law Magazine