Vioxx Could Be Responsible for Over 50,000 Deaths

Fox News published this story about how the FDA suppressed research that shows as many as 139,000 people may have had heart attacks caused by Vioxx, and as many as 55,000 may have died from them.

It's still up in the air as to how bad the Vioxx situation is, but it looks like the following facts will turn out to be true:

• At least one scientist at the FDA believed Vioxx was dangerous.
• At least one scientist at Merck believed the drug was dangerous.
• The powers-that-be at Merck and the FDA prevented the release of information about the dangers of Vioxx.
• Tens of thousands of people were injured or killed because the FDA didn't do its job properly.

I'll again remind everyone that under proposed tort reform, Merck couldn't be sued because the FDA approved Vioxx.  Isn't this proof positive that it's a bad idea to give corporations a Get Out of Jail Free card if their product passed government safety standards?

And wouldn't it also be a good idea to reform the Federal regulatory agencies so they aren't so chummy with those they regulate?