The Cutter Incident: How America's First Polio Vaccine Led to the Growing Vaccine Crisis

From the unique perspective of an infectious disease pediatric physician, Dr. Offitt relates the 1955 tragedy of a pharmaceutical company licensed to produce and distribute Salk's killed-virus vaccine. With disastrous consequences, Cutter Laboratories mistakenly shipped vaccines containing live polio virus causing 40,000 children to become ill, some permanently paralyzed and some to die. With substantial legal repercussions 50 years after the incident, Offitt outlines the law of unintended consequences and pharmaceutically liability, juries and damage awards and the federal agencies created to protect vaccine safety for children. The author concludes that the current U.S. shortage of vaccine (such as flu vaccine) is directly related to this historic event.