The Charlotte Observer also had this to say, from the Republican head of the Alabama DHS:There may be less to this story than it appears at first blush. Homeland Security chair Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said immunization instructions are commonly given when aides are sent to examine health care facilities -- which were also part of the NASCAR trips. Those trips, by the way, were designed to let panel aides research public health preparedness at mass gatherings.
Thompson also noted that the immunizations were optional, not mandatory.
Jim Walker, Alabama's director of homeland security, said the congressional committee aides who visited Talladega worked hard. He said they were trying to determine whether the state and federal emergency response system was adequate to handle a situation at such a large event.
"I might have been a little skeptical about this visit coming in, but these folks worked," Walker said.
Here's a fact the newspapers missed: Every child and adolescent in the United States should be vaccinated against Hepatitis A&B, Tetanus and Diptheria. That's according to the elitists at the Centers for Disease Control. The only "additional" vaccination in the list is influenza. I'll bet that Randy gets a yearly flu shot himself, since those silly Democrats at the CDC recommend that everyone over 50 should have an influenza vaccination.He said the aides went on patrols with law enforcement, toured facilities and interviewed first responders, hazardous materials teams and other officials.