Lieberman, Collins Send Letter To Sebelius Questioning Flu Response

Senators question US response to flu from the Wall Street Journal reports that Senators Joseph Lieberman and Susan Collins have sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius with 13 questions about the H1N1 flu vaccine program. 

Joseph Lieberman (I., Conn.) and Susan Collins (R., Maine) praised the government's initial steps on the H1N1 swine flu, but said they now have "strong concerns" about the fallout from faulty estimates for how much vaccine would be available.
"Unfortunately, these missteps in estimating available doses of H1N1 vaccine have effects beyond just growing public frustration; they have the potential to critically undermine our vaccine distribution efforts, which depend on accurate estimates of vaccine availability," the senators wrote.
Mr. Lieberman is the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Ms. Collins is its ranking Republican.
The letter asks Ms. Sebelius to answer 13 questions, including when HHS knew that vaccine supplies would fall short of its projections, and why officials didn't narrow their list of target recipients to make sure those at highest risk got the limited supplies first.
The senators also expressed concern that "HHS lacks the visibility into the production processes of vaccine manufacturers, domestic and foreign, to provide more accurate and timely information of such a critical public health asset."