US Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) seeks regulations to prevent future disease outbreaks. (The Herald/ Submitted Photo)

At a Senate hearing on the deadly meningitis outbreak, US Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) today called for a new model of oversight of sterile compounding pharmacies that would give one agency “full accountability and responsibility.”

“My experience as governor is that whenever I gave a job to more than one person, sometimes it came back not done,” he said. “But when I put one person on the flagpole, it was surprising to see how assigning responsibility got it done.”

Alexander described the meningitis outbreak has been a nightmare for Tennesseans.

“Thirteen Tennesseans have died, 81 Tennesseans are sick, a thousand more have been exposed,” he added.

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