- Days after President Bush outlined his plan to take a
pre-emptive strike against the possibility that terrorists would use smallpox
as their next weapon of choice against Americans, emergency medical providers
have refused to participate amid the risk of side effects and the threat
of liability issues.
-
- "At this point in time, the risk of the vaccine
far outweighs the benefit of getting the vaccine," Dr. Carlos del
Rio of Emory University told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Del Rio
backs the decision by his staff of emergency workers at Grady Memorial
Hospital not to roll up their sleeves.
-
- Unions representing healthcare workers also condemn the
plan.
-
- Smallpox is a deadly but preventable disease. Most Americans
who are 34 or older had a smallpox vaccination when they were children.
By 1972, the risk of smallpox was so remote that routine vaccinations were
discontinued in the United States.
-
- In 1980, the World Health Organization declared smallpox
had been completely eradicated. Since then, there have been no natural
cases of the disease anywhere in the world.
-
- "We know, however, that the smallpox virus still
exists in laboratories. And we believe that regimes hostile to the United
States may possess this dangerous virus," Bush announced last week,
but stressed the government has no information on any imminent threat.
-
- The president detailed a two-tiered strategy which starts
with mandatory vaccinations for 510,000 military personnel who serve in
"high-risk parts of the world." Next in line would be 440,000
civilian health workers in hospital emergency rooms and then the first
responders - police, firefighters and EMTs. The administration recommends
at least half of 10 million first responders be vaccinated.
-
- Plans for the first wave of vaccinations have been drawn
up by every state. The vaccination program will begin in late January and
end four months later.
-
- The smallpox plan for troops comes as the government
still weathers controversy over its anthrax inoculation. As WorldNetDaily
reported, hundreds of military personnel refused that mandatory vaccine.
This after, some 100,000 Persian Gulf War veterans got sick with a still-unexplained
syndrome many suspect has to do with vaccines they were given and the possible
exposure to chemical or biological weapons.
-
- "As commander in chief, I do not believe I can ask
others to accept this risk unless I am willing to do the same. Therefore,
I will receive the vaccine along with our military," Bush said.
-
- Will the Department of Health and Human Services secretary
be inoculated?
-
- "Absolutely not," retorted Tommy Thompson on
CNN's Late Edition. "The president is doing it because he is the commander
in chief. And he believes that if he is ordering his troops, the troops
of America, the armed forces, to get this vaccination, he should do it
as well. He's doing it as the commander in chief. ... I am not, and I would
strongly recommend other people in the Cabinet not request a vaccination
because I do not believe it is necessary or it should be taking place,"
he continued.
-
- According to Thompson, a vaccine will likely be licensed
in the coming months but the government would not be recommending the general
public get the vaccination before early 2004.
-
- The risk of suffering adverse side effects from the vaccine
are deemed greater than the risk of getting infected from a terror attack.
Unlike other vaccines, smallpox is a live virus.
-
- For every 1 million vaccinations, the Atlanta-based Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, there will be one to two
deaths. Fourteen to 52 other individuals could have life-threatening diseases
such as encephalitis, or swelling of the brain. And then up to 900 others
would suffer less severe effects that range from rashes and fevers to progressive
swelling and scarring.
-
- People who are immune-suppressed, have cancer or are
taking cancer treatments and individuals who have eczema or other atopic
pharmaceutical problems are urged not to even consider getting inoculated.
-
- A recent government study of 200 healthy young adults
found one-third missed at least one day of work or school, 75 had high
fevers, and several were put on antibiotics because physicians worried
that their blisters signaled a bacterial infection.
-
- Tony Fauci, director of the NIH's National Institute
for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the Houston Chronicle that when
he speaks at public meetings, about 60 percent of people initially say
they want the vaccine. After he shows slides of its side effects the number
of those who say they want the shot drops to 15 percent to 20 percent.
-
- Andrew Stern, president of the 1.5 million-member Service
Employees International Union decries the "unnecessary risk"
posed for hospital workers and their patients under Bush's plan.
-
- "No one should get this vaccine without getting
screened and understanding the risk for themselves and their family. But
under this plan, only people who can afford to pay for the tests or whose
insurance might cover it will be protected," he said in a statement.
-
- Thompson also stressed the need for screening, noting
that everyone who volunteers for the vaccine will need to fill out a questionnaire.
-
- "We expect that monitoring of the safety of this
vaccine will be exemplary," Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters in a telephone briefing.
-
- Georgia's health director put a positive light on Grady
Memorial Hospital's refusal to participate in the plan.
-
- "I am not concerned. I think it's a reflection of
the fact that we have done our job in making people realize that this vaccination
is voluntary," Dr. Kathleen Toomey told the Journal-Constitution.
"We are not strong-arming them in any way."
-
- According to Toomey, hospitals have expressed concern
that recently vaccinated people pose a risk in wards full of patients with
weak immune systems.
-
- "We are hearing about issues of liability for vaccine
injury, and issues of workmen's compensation - in the rare but possible
event of a complication, how are the hospitals going to pay?" she
asked.
-
- Diana Lynne is a news editor for WorldNetDaily.com.
-
- http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30079
|
