Baxter Files Swine Flu Vaccine Patent a Year Ahead of Outbreak

Barack Opharma issues the ultimate bad news during his weekly Friday night bad news dump: Legal immunity set for vaccine makers. The last time the government embarked on a major vaccine campaign against a new swine flu, thousands filed claims contending they suffered side effects (paralysis, death) from the shots. This time, the government has already taken steps to head that off. Vaccine makers and federal officials will be immune from lawsuits that result from any new swine flu vaccine, under a document signed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, government health officials said Friday. The document signed by Sebelius last month grants immunity to those making a swine flu vaccine, under the provisions of a 2006 law for public health emergencies. Read: