Sunday, October 4, 2009

Vaccine Is On Its Way, But Public Still Wary. Swine Flu Campaign Faces Key Barriers: Unease, Ambivalence

Excerpts from the Washington Post:
As the federal government launches the most ambitious inoculation campaign in U.S. history, several surveys indicate the public is decidedly ambivalent.

"Safety is our top priority," said Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. "What I want people to know is that no corners were cut at all."  [Then why did your agency, HHS, give immunity from liability to the manufacturer and to government officials who planned this program, Dr. Schuchat?  And where are the completed safety studies?--Nass]

Only 13 percent of those surveyed in the Harvard poll thought the vaccine was very safe for pregnant women.

The CDC is launching a multimillion-dollar campaign to promote vaccination and quell concerns...

2 comments:

  1. HI Dr. Nass, I saw you speak at the 4th International Public Conference on Vaccination and thank you for what you do and for your talk. I am looking for the LAW that you spoke of and was changed that says the injury has been taken out and BIG Phama cannot be sued? Who can be sued? Minnesota DH says now one can be sued but I trust your truth more. I want to be very specific before giving people what I believe is vital information. Thank you again, Dr. Chris L. Akey, Farmington, AR

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  2. The law is the 2006 Public Readiness and Emergency Responsiveness Act. In April and June 2009 an acting HHS Secretary and Secretary Sibelius issued directives that swine flu vaccines and any adjuvants would fall under the PREP Act.

    The Act says that Secretary Sibelius has directed HRSA (within HHS) to establish a compensation plan.

    I spoke with Dr. Vito Caserta, the director of the Countermeasure Injury Compensation Program (CICP) who filled me in on the details. No one can be sued, absent willful misconduct and approval of the DHHS Secretary. However, the CICP has a current allotment of $14 million of taxpayer dollars to compensate injured recipients. But HHS physicians will make the determination of whether you receive compensation. Because no criteria yet exist to link an injury to the vaccine, it might be difficult to receive compensation. Also, since HHS gave the liability waiver, and decides if you were injured by the vaccine, and pays the costs, there is a significant conflict of interest written into the law.

    There is more detail earlier in the blog.

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