Adleson

MEMORANDUM OPINION, FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

I. Background of the Case

This action is one of many claiming damages for injuries arising out of the federal government’s attempt in 1976 to inoculate the larger part of the adult American population against a threatened epidemic of swine flu (A/New Jersey/1976 influenza). Although the epidemic did not materialize, over forty-eight million persons were vaccinated after the immunization program commenced in October, 1976, and a certain number of vaccinees suffered illness or death in the period immediately following immunization.

The Center for Disease Control collected reports of morbidity and mortality among vaccinees, and classified them in order to discover any association of vaccination with a particular disease or condition. The CDC found numerous cases of minor reactions to the swine flu injections (fever, headache, malaise, etc.), and a few cases of anaphylac tic shock. Otherwise, the instances of sickness and death were attributable to a wide variety of causes and did not exceed the levels expected in the general population, with one exception: there were excess cases of a relatively rare neurological disorder…