The Premonition: A Pandemic Story Highlight

The breaking point for Foege came in 1983, after the CDC’s researchers established a connection between aspirin and Reye’s syndrome in children. When given to children suffering from flu or measles, aspirin could trigger swelling in the liver and the brain and, in rare cases, death. Companies that manufactured aspirin petitioned the White House. “The White House called and told us to cease and desist,” recalled Foege. “Do a new study.” The aspirin makers had been able to force the CDC to scrap its findings and slow down science. Foege had resigned after that.