Swine Flu Scare in America (B)
1993
This case is the second part (Part B) of a case on the government’s response to the swine-flu in 1976. This section focuses on the interplay between the Centers for Disease Control and the federal government.
The abstract sets the stage with the following description. "In 1976, the CDC received samples of an unknown pathogen from Fort Dix, a New Jersey Army training center […] CDC director Dr. David Spencer wrote an ‘action memorandum’ detailing how the Federal government should proceed. This section details how Dr. Theodore Cooper, of the CDC, took Spencer's paper to Washington D.C., and the resistance that his propositions faced."
Also see: Swine Flu Scare in America (A)
The case is part of a series produced by the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Case Program. Each case in the series is designed to train public leaders, and introduces actual policy dilemmas along with data to equip students to learn how to apply the rigor of quantitative analysis in the real world. This case is available for free.
Swine Flu Scare in America (B)
Source:
Neustadt R, Fineberg H. Swine Flu Scare in America (B). HKS Case No. 1054. Harvard Kennedy School Case Problem 1993. https://case.hks.harvard.edu/swine-flu-scare-in-america-b.