Journal article
Criticized, Fired, Sued, or Prosecuted: Hindsight and Public Health Accountability
Public health reports (1974), v 132(6), pp 676-678
Nov 2017
PMID: 28903008
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
In 1976, public health officials in the United States faced a tough decision. The detection of a novel virulent strain of influenza on a military base in New Jersey led some experts to predict a pandemic. Although seasonal influenza occurs annually, predicting pandemics is notoriously difficult. A novel influenza virus might herald a pandemic or signal a false alarm. With media reports of early cases of so-called swine flu fueling fear of a large outbreak and with the extra pressure of a looming presidential election, Dr David Sencer, then director of the Center for Disease Control (now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), reviewed the scientific evidence, consulted experts, and, with congressional approval, launched the national swine flu vaccination program. The rapidly implemented program was expensive, expansive, and controversial. The pandemic never materialized; swine flu did not spread widely; and the new vaccine was associated with an increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome—a rare but potentially life-threatening neurologic condition. In early 1977, Joseph Califano, the secretary of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, announced the suspension of the swine flu vaccination program and dismissed Sencer.1,2
Metrics
Details
- Title
- Criticized, Fired, Sued, or Prosecuted: Hindsight and Public Health Accountability
- Creators
- Lance Gable - Wayne State UniversityJames W Buehler - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Public health reports (1974), v 132(6), pp 676-678
- Publisher
- Sage
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Health Management and Policy
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000415254900012
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85040528718
- Other Identifier
- 991019168513004721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health