Liability Lawsuits and the Influenza Vaccine

The ongoing story regarding the shortage of influenza vaccine has the pundits looking for the causes. Instapundit refers to a post from Kevin Drum that discounts liability lawsuits as the main reason. Professor Bainbridge covers the subject here
Polipundit then referred to a story from Frontpage magazine that stated

In the late 80’s a man from North Carolina who had received the vaccine got the flu. The strain he caught was one of the strains in that years vaccine made by a US company.

What did he do? He sued and he won. He was awarded almost $5 million!

On the other hand, Snopes claims that this story is an urban legend.

the passage of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 eliminated most of those lawsuits through the creation of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), a no-fault compensation alternative to suing vaccine manufacturers and providers for people injured or killed by vaccines. According to a 2003 report by the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), "vaccine shortages do not appear to be liability related":

Unfortunately, Snopes does not have the whole story, since the Vaccine Injury Compensation program does not cover the influenza vaccine.

Vaccines covered under the program include those that protect against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), measles, mumps, rubella (German measles), and polio. The program continues to evolve consistent with medical science, and recently, HHS expanded coverage to four new vaccines: hepatitis B, varicella (chicken pox), Hemophilus influenzae type b, and rotavirus; pneumococcal vaccine will soon be covered, too.

Note that Hemophilus Influenzae type b is NOT the same as the most commonly known influenza or flu that afflicts the general population

The injury table for the program can be found in this link and it does not provide for compensation for injuries derived from the influenza vaccine. Thus, the Snopes article does not prove that that liability lawsuits have not driven the vaccine manufacturers away from manufacturing the influenza vaccine while other sources point to them as a significant factor affecting the cost of vaccine supply.

Comments

[kitty]

Snopes can't even corroborate that Edwards had anything to do with those lawsuits, although they stated the claim as such:

"Claim: The current flu vaccine shortage is attributable to a lawsuit handled by Vice-Presidential candidate John Edwards.
Status: False.
Regarding the claim that John Edwards secured a $5 million judgment against a U.S. pharmacutical company on a flu vaccine case, while it is true he had a highly successful legal career representing individuals who had been badly harmed by malfunctioning products or the mistakes of doctors and hospitals, with some even saying he won $175 million for his clients over 12 years, at this point it's not known if he ever litigated a flu vaccine case, or if so, what the outcome of such a trial was."

Who checks Snopes' accuracy?

[Fabulous Eggs]

You folks need to take a course in logic and reasoning. Trying to say that the email propaganda should be taken seriously because of an inaccuracy within an urban legend reporter is a serious case of "moving the goalposts," and shifts the burden of proof from the nameless moron accuser making an unsubstantiated assertion. Where did you learn to argue, from the Intelligent Design crowd?

No search of findlaw or any other legal or news database has turned up ANYTHING to even remotely suggest that the load of shit being proffered by this sinister whisper campaign is true.

You people are dumbfucks.

[Bob]

I have long questioned the wisdom of taking Snopes as the last word without question on everything

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[CLP]

Kitty was very eloquent. Another college educated waitress I'm sure. Or more likely someone receiving an "entitlement", calling others "DF'S" because we dare think instead of "feel".

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