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President Ford has pushed for the inoculation of virtually all Americans against swine flu, a massive effort that would involve the manufacture and administration of more than 200 million shots of vaccine. Ford's program, however, has yet to get off the ground. Some doctors oppose wholesale immunization on the ground that the risks—fevers, headaches and other reactions in many of those inoculated—may not be justified in the light of the uncertainty about whether the epidemic will actually arrive. Drug manufacturers have questioned whether they can produce enough vaccine in time, while local officials have complained that the cost of the inoculations will greatly exceed the $135 million appropriated for the program by Congress.
But the biggest difficulty has been the refusal of insurance companies to cover the program. Fearful of being held liable for adverse reactions among those inoculated, one company after another refused to insure drug manufacturers, stalling the antiflu effort before it had a chance to get started.
For a while last week it seemed as if this obstacle might be overcome. Spurred by the initial fear that the Pennsylvania deaths might be due to swine flu, the House Health and Environment Subcommittee hastily approved a bill that would, in effect, make the Government liable for injury claims arising out of the immunization program. Many Congressmen were uncomfortable with the bill, which they thought might set an unwelcome precedent. Said Democratic Representative Henry Waxman of California: "I feel, as a representative of the U.S. Government, that we were blackjacked by the insurance industry." But despite their reservations, many felt sufficiently scared by the Pennsylvania tragedy to give the measure their approval.
By late last week their views had changed. Convinced by reports from both Harrisburg and Atlanta that the Legion disease was not swine flu, many Congressmen began to express second thoughts about the measure, which they felt could expose the Government to an enormous array of claims. By the end of the week the measure was languishing. Said one Senate staffer: "It is not clear now how critical it is to act precipitously on legislation whose full implication we don't understand."
His attitude is understandable. There is no need for Congress to rush pell-mell into passing legislation that could present the Government with unwanted and unnecessary obligations. But there is also a need for action to prepare for a possible swine-flu epidemic. Most Americans are probably safe from the disease that struck Pennsylvania's American Legionnaires. But few are likely to have any protection against the swine flu. Fewer still are likely to escape exposure to it if it comes. The last major flu virus caused or contributed to some 30,000 deaths when it swept the U.S. in the winter of 1968-69. Swine flu could be just as deadly.