There's also the gov't fear of a more malicious virus. Anywhere you look, there's speculation that the virus will mutate during the So. Hemisphere's flu season and then come back up to the No. Hemisphere in the autumn-- worse than ever. The 1918 flu did have a second, much more deadly wave *but* the World War had a lot to do with the way that spread.
And the gov't fear of blame. People do want to find someone to blame, always. The gov't can't put a cap on its liability for failure to "save" people from the swine flu (look at the case with the NY principal whose wife says it's the city's fault he died-- they didn't act early enough). However, the gov't *can* put a cap on its liability for vaccines. Also, they believe they have the statistics and thus control over negative vaccine reactions, whereas the impact of h1n1 and its potential mutations are much more unknown. It's just "safer" for the gov't to trade what appears to be a known and controlled risk for an unknown risk.
Of course, the money, too. In '04 Bush passes a plan to stockpile vaccines for pandemics and now the gov't is basically tied to shelling out several billion in the name of flu protection, no matter how benign the disease. I believe the U.S. is committed to about $1 billion for purchase of this vaccine. They have basically forced themselves into contracts with the vaccine companies.
And the gov't fear of blame. People do want to find someone to blame, always. The gov't can't put a cap on its liability for failure to "save" people from the swine flu (look at the case with the NY principal whose wife says it's the city's fault he died-- they didn't act early enough). However, the gov't *can* put a cap on its liability for vaccines. Also, they believe they have the statistics and thus control over negative vaccine reactions, whereas the impact of h1n1 and its potential mutations are much more unknown. It's just "safer" for the gov't to trade what appears to be a known and controlled risk for an unknown risk.
Of course, the money, too. In '04 Bush passes a plan to stockpile vaccines for pandemics and now the gov't is basically tied to shelling out several billion in the name of flu protection, no matter how benign the disease. I believe the U.S. is committed to about $1 billion for purchase of this vaccine. They have basically forced themselves into contracts with the vaccine companies.






that would be bad. very bad.
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