Government Provides Drug Companies With More Protection, Funding
Just before the New Year, Bush signed into law a $3.8 billion package intended to help companies develop vaccines against the avian flu. In addition, the law provides the companies that develop such vaccines with new levels of protection in the case of illness or death that results from their use. If users of drugs or vaccines during a public health emergency fall ill or die, the drug makers are not held accountable; rather, the government will compensate their families.