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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (3468)	1/24/2003 8:20:52 AM
From: Ed Huang	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25898

U.S. to Start Civilian Smallpox Vaccinations Fri January 24, 2003 01:58 AM ET By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hospital workers in Connecticut were scheduled to become the first American civilians vaccinated against smallpox on Friday under a government program aimed at protecting against a biological attack, U.S. health officials said. Friday is the first possible day the vaccinations can take place under the provisions of the new Homeland Security Act, and Connecticut state officials said they would lead the way with the first immunizations at the University of Connecticut health center in Farmington. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week it had shipped the first 20,000 doses of smallpox vaccine to four states -- Connecticut, Nebraska, Vermont and Los Angeles County in California. A CDC spokesman said it was not clear how many workers would be vaccinated on Friday. Connecticut health officials were to outline their plans at a news conference. Smallpox was wiped out in 1979 but experts fear countries such as Iraq, and perhaps terrorist groups, could use the virus as a weapon. Smallpox is infectious and kills 30 percent of its victims. The vaccine that wiped out smallpox is old and causes many side effects. It kills between one and two in every million people who get it, and Americans may be more vulnerable to side effects than in the 1970s, when general vaccination ended. But President Bush decided the risk was worth taking in view of the possible threat of biological attack. Experts have warned of the threat for years but officials became especially concerned after the October 2001 letter-borne anthrax attacks that killed five people. Bush ordered the vaccination of about 400,000 healthcare and emergency workers who would be the first to care for any smallpox victims, and of 500,000 military troops. Eventually up to 10 million people will be vaccinated. UNIONS QUESTION VACCINATIONS But unions have questioned the decision, noting the dangerous side effects of the vaccine and the lack of any federal program to compensate those who may be injured by it. The American Nurses Association urged a delay in the vaccinations, citing concerns about compensation of any victims. "Without a resolution of these concerns, ANA cannot fully support the smallpox vaccination program at this time," the group's president, Barbara Blakeney, said in a letter to Bush. Last week, a panel appointed by the Institute of Medicine also questioned the policy but said market forces may decide. They said health workers should feel free to refuse to get the vaccine and if enough did, the government should get the message that the plan needed adjusting. But CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said there were plenty of volunteers and said the agency was moving ahead quickly with the plan. "At this time, our highest priority is to vaccinate members of smallpox response teams in the states," she said in a statement. CDC officials said those getting the shots would be told how to take care of themselves and the vaccination site to reduce the chances of side effects and of passing on the live virus used in the vaccine to others. The smallpox vaccine uses a related virus, vaccinia, which causes a usually mild infection in people that leaves them immune to smallpox, or at least to its most deadly effects. reuters.com