US Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has signed documents that give vaccination developers immunity for any future lawsuits that could pertain to the vaccine for H1N1 swine flu.
In 1976, during the last swine flu scare, thousands of people who took the vaccination filed claims because they suffered side effects from the vaccine. Eventually, some 25 people died from the vaccine itself, while the flu only killed one person.
Government Protecting Vaccine Makers
Since the 1980s, the US government has protected vaccine makers from potential lawsuits, especially over childhood vaccines. There has been a movement recently in which many parents and doctors claim the vaccinations that contain thimerasol (mercury) are causing autism.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that there are 40,000+ confirmed or probable cases of H1N1 swine flu in the US. However, some say that those 40,000+ have sought health care but there are close to one million who have mild cases of the flu.
According to the Director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Dr. Anne Schuchat, the virus hits young people the hardest and she further added, "We do expect there to be an increase in influenza this fall."
During the 1976 scare, the government vaccinated 40 million Americans, and even though the flu never developed many Americans felt a lot of side effects. The most common side effect was something called Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which is a paralyzing condition.
According to Stephen Sugarman, a law professor who specializes in product liability at the University of California at Berkeley, "The government paid out quite a bit of money."