One Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Bush Misleads on Flu Vaccine President Bush has tried to avoid any responsibility for the flu vaccine shortage by making misleading statements. During the presidential debate last Wednesday, President Bush said the problem was that "we relied upon a company out of England." That isn't true. Chiron Corp., the company whose vaccine plant was contaminated, is a California company - subject to regulation by the U.S. government - that operates a factory in England. During the debate, President Bush also said, "we took the right action and didn't allow contaminated medicine into our country." That isn't true either. It was the British authorities who, after inspecting the plant, revoked the factory's license on October 5th. In June 2003, the United States Food and Drug Administration inspected the Chiron plant. Initially, the FDA found that the plant was contaminated with bacteria but later announced, "the problems were corrected to their satisfaction," and allowed the plant to continue to operate.