Jack barely noticed when Marc and Madison came through the door of the crisis center. He had spent the last hour poring over the latest information posted on the Data Record.
“Okay, we’re here,” she said, sitting down directly across from him. “What’s going on?”
“As of nine o’clock this morning, there are about a hundred and thirty women hospitalized in South Florida with GNS. I’ve spent the last hour looking at their obstetric records.”
“I thought we covered that ground already,” Madison informed him.
“I’m looking specifically at each of their vaccination records.”
“All the way back to childhood?” Marc asked.
“Actually, I’m only interested in whether they received the most recent flu vaccine.” Jack paused long enough to study their dubious expressions. “The new vaccine became available nationally about ten weeks ago. According to our records, two hundred sixty-five of the GNS patients definitely received the vaccine; the other thirteen we have no records on.” He closed the lid to the laptop, folded his arms in front of his chest and added, “I can’t find a single patient who definitely did not receive the flu vaccine.”
Marc said, “Maybe it’s just a coincidence. There are thousands of women with GNS. Looking at two hundred and seventy-eight of them…well, it might not prove a thing.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Jack was quick to say. “That’s why we’re going to expand the search. All the information’s right here in front of us. We can start by checking the hospitals in Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville. That would increase our patient population base to almost three hundred, which should be enough to at least suggest a trend.”
With a less than convinced expression, Madison asked, “When are we going to do that?”
“There’s no time like the present.”
For the next half hour the three of them combined their efforts to comb through the patients’ vaccine records. When they were finished they projected their results on the large screen.
“The information’s about the same for all seven hospitals,” Jack said. “Two hundred and sixty-five women who were definitely vaccinated. There are thirteen with no record one way or the other.” He looked up and smiled. “What’s interesting is that there’s not a single patient whose record clearly states she did not receive the flu shot.” He paused for a few seconds and then asked, “What do you think?”
“There are only two possibilities,” Marc answered. “It’s either an incredible coincidence or there’s a definite connection between the vaccine and GNS.”
“What next?” Madison asked.
“We check with the families of the thirteen patients to find out for sure if they received the vaccine or not.”
“I hate to point out the obvious,” she said, “but the flu vaccine is strongly recommended in pregnancy. There’s no medical controversy about it.”
“Your point?”
“Maybe all this isn’t as earth-shattering a revelation as you think. Maybe it’s no surprise that almost all of them got the flu shot.”
Jack raised his index finger. “Most patients follow their doctor’s recommendations. But there are those that don’t, especially when it comes to vaccinations. Maybe they had a prior bad reaction, or maybe they read somewhere or talked to somebody who advised against it. There’s a ton of anti-vaccine stuff out there. I have patients, friends including physicians who wanted nothing to do with the flu vaccine.”
“I’m one of them,” Marc confessed, with a casual shrug.
“Okay, for argument’s sake, let’s assume you’re right and the flu vaccine is somehow tied into GNS. How do you explain all the pregnant women who had the vaccination and never got GNS? I ask the question because for every one vaccinated woman, there have to be thousands more pregnant women who were vaccinated, but never got sick. What about them? What made them so fortunate to be immune?”
“My best guess is that all the women with GNS have some other factor or condition in common that made them susceptible. When we figure out what that factor is, we’ll have the final piece to the puzzle.”
“When the Salk vaccine was first introduced, there was a bad batch and a lot of people got very sick,” Marc said. “It doesn’t sound like you’re suggesting GNS is a tainted vaccine problem.”
“I’m not. I believe the problem lies with the women themselves. My guess is there’s something about the vaccine that changes their basic metabolism or immunological system. Whatever that change is makes the victim predisposed to getting GNS.”
“But you have absolutely no idea what that factor is,” Madison said.
“None whatsoever.”
“So, where do we go from here?”
“I assume none of us knows too much about who manufactures the flu vaccine or how it gets distributed. So, somebody needs to become an expert on the topic ASAP.”
As if it had been choreographed in advance, Jack and Madison eyes fell on Marc at the same moment. He returned their knowing stares with a sneer.
“The trickle-down theory at its best,” he complained. “I’ll get some of the residents and med students to help me.”
“I’d start with the CDC,” Jack advised. “We need to know the name of every pharmaceutical company that manufactures the flu vaccine and their specific areas of distribution. I would also check with the FDA to get a list of all reported adverse and allergic reactions to the vaccine. And we need all of this information as soon as possible.”
“No problem,” Marc said. “I do my best work with a sword of Damocles hanging over my head.”
“I’m afraid the sword’s hanging over all of our heads,” Jack said. “At best, we only have a few days to figure this thing out before Vitracide therapy starts on a national level.”
“Supposing you’re right about this vaccine thing, what do we do about it?” Madison asked.
“I’m not sure.” With a subtle grin, he added, “Maybe that’s one of those bridges you jump off when you get to it that you’re always telling me about.”
Jack was certain of one thing. He knew if his theory panned out, he’d have to share it with other doctors for their scrutiny and input. He realized as soon as he did, Hollis Sinclair and the naysayers who supported his parvovirus theory would label him a heretic. For the moment, he forced himself to push the problem of Sinclair from his mind. Every particle of his being was sure he was onto something, and the last thing he needed was to allow the politics of the situation to distract him.