You Did What__ Mad Plans and Great Historical Disasters - Bill Fawcett [93]
The CDC is the main center for investigative public health in the United States. As a division of the U.S. Department of Health, it was equipped with the “best” scientists and laboratories for detecting diseases and epidemics. It was also considered by many people as a political organization which, at that time, was poorly run, underfunded and relatively dysfunctional. There was a great pressure to find newsworthy epidemics and disease outbreaks in order to justify the CDC’s existence. Politics often got in the way of good medicine and science. In fact, a few years earlier, President Nixon had suggested the CDC be closed down because of the inefficiency and politics that were so heavily entrenched.
After receiving the virus samples, the CDC quickly identified the mysterious Fort Dix virus as the 1918 flu virus (Influenza A) and, because of its association with hogs, named it Swine Flu. The CDC urged the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to publish an official warning that contagious Swine Flu was hiding in the nation’s hogs. “Killer pigs” was one byword. Once the media found out (as intended), there was a great public response, which financially allowed the CDC to activate its investigative departments. On February 20, 1976, the CDC started searching the nation’s hospitals for Swine Flu patients. They also convened the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advised the CDC on what actions to take on this matter.
The advisory committee recommended that Swine Flu vaccine be manufactured and stockpiled, and a plan for mass vaccination be created. No other actions were recommended pending future reports of the spread of the “epidemic.” CDC leader Dr. David Sencer disregarded the committee’s recommendations and sent an Action Memo to the government threatening dire consequences if immediate action was not taken. The CDC (Sencer) recommended an immediate major immunization program. “Better to spend money than to have deaths” was the watchword. Money and authority poured into the previously ignored and cash-strapped CDC.
On March 24, 1976, President Ford made an emergency TV telecast urging all Americans to have the vaccination. The estimated cost for this program was $135 million. This unusual action was due in part to the threat of an epidemic (as hyped by the CDC) and the need to show “action” in the coming election, which would eventually put Jimmy Carter into the presidency. The only problem, which most people forgot, was that other than a few dozen Fort Dix solders affected in the initial outbreak, no one since had come down with Swine Flu…nationwide.
Disaster 1
The National Influenza Immunization Program (NIIP) was a failure nearing disaster. It started three months late. The CDC gave one of the four vaccine manufacturers the incorrect virus to make into vaccine and 2 million doses of the wrong vaccine were produced. Physicians found that the vaccine caused life-threatening side effects in 2 percent of the population. These included fatal anaphylaxis, high fevers (100-plus degrees), headaches, malaise, soreness and a tenfold increase in the crippling Guillain-Barré syndrome. If the vaccine was distributed to the 175 million Americans, hospitals would not be able to cope with the 3 million to 3.5 million immediate illnesses caused by these reactions.
These excessive reactions caused all the vaccine makers to drop the program because of liability. It was estimated that malpractice and product liability litigation would cost the manufacturers $5 billion. The government would have to cover these costs if the program was to continue. It was getting too expensive.
By July 1976, the NIIP was in full swing. Five months passed with only six deaths reported (the original Fort Dix soldiers). Five hundred other soldiers showed increased antibodies to Swine Flu (implying that they were infected), but there was no illness. This was not the typical reaction one would expect from the mass killer Influenza A of 1918. There were no other reports of Swine Flu nationwide. There was no epidemic.