You are an experienced criminal investigator for the Office of Inspector General (OIG) assigned to a team overseeing the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). The OIG's purpose is to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse, while the HHS is the primary federal agency responsible for protecting the health of all Americans. As a criminal investigator, you are charged with the responsibility to provide thorough, objective, and realistic findings as they relate to the effectiveness and efficiency of the HHS. While you are not a political appointee, your reports may address influential factors (i.e., organizational culture, political realities, or other objectively stated influences) in the workplace or in public perceptions that may or will impact the operation of a government agency.
Question:
From a risk assessment perspective, discuss the principle determinants of the CDC's decision to recommend full-scale manufacture of, and immunization of the public with a vaccine specifically developed for a swine-flu virus. Include what you believe to be:
1) the primary situational elements (the nature of the hazard, its expectedconsequences, and any other variables that significantly affected risk perception); and
2) key drivers (rationales, agendas) behind the formally submitted risk assessment.