The folly of Trent Lott

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Talking Points: The folly of Trent Lott

Date: 12/12/02; Publication: The O'Reilly Factor (Fox News Network); Author:

Bill O'Reilly

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<http://ask.elibrary.com/images/shim.gif> The O'Reilly Factor (Fox

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if> Now for the top story tonight, tomorrow President Bush will announce his

plan to begin smallpox inoculations. The military is first, and the general

public will be offered the vaccine on a voluntary basis in the year 2004.

Should you take it to protect yourself against possible bioterrorism?

Joining us now from Boston is Dr. Bicknell, president of public

health at Boston University, and from Atlanta, Dr. Stanley , president

of international health at Emory University. That's professor, not

president.

All right, Dr. , you have reservations about this, what are they?

STANLEY FOSTER, M.D., EMORY UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL HEALTH:

Yes, the risk of smallpox vaccination is greater than the risk of smallpox.

And because of that, I would not recommend the general public to be

vaccinated.

O'REILLY: All right. Now, we eradicated smallpox, sir, by a vaccine, and you

say now, obviously, the risk is greater, but if there was an attack by

people carrying smallpox, that could be disaster in this country, could it

not?

FOSTER: It would be a disaster. But surveillance, searching and controlling

smallpox is the way you get rid of smallpox. We demonstrated clearly in

Bangladesh that even 80 percent coverage was not adequate to stop smallpox.

It takes looking for cases and containing them.

O'REILLY: You still, though, even though the threat is there, would say,

don't get that vaccine if you're an American citizen?

FOSTER: If you're a general American citizen, certainly not.

O'REILLY: OK. Dr. Bicknell, what say you?

WILLIAM BICKNELL, M.D., BOSTON UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Well,

I think it is very prudent to do what it is said the president' s going to

do, start with 500,000 first responders, expand broadly to not only acute

medical care workers but police, fire, emergency workers, to keep civil

society functioning.

Smallpox is a highly infectious disease. The more people that are vaccinated

before an attack, the less likely -- the easier it is to control an attack

afterwards.

O'REILLY: All right. But Dr. says it's dangerous to take this vaccine,

is he?

BICKNELL: Well, let's look at the numbers. Fourteen million people

inoculated in 1968, nine deaths, seven of those were in children under 9.

Don't do kids. The two adult deaths were in two women with blood disorders

we would not vaccinate against. The U.S. military has had no vaccine-

related deaths since World War II. The Israelis have had no deaths in their

military. There have been no deaths and two complications, which cleared

quickly, in the recent Israeli immunizations in the last month or two. CDC's

vaccinated around 12,000 people in the last decade or so, and no known

serious complications or deaths there.

Vaccination in adults, particularly adults who have been vaccinated before,

is quite safe. You want to screen with care, avoid the immunocompromise, use

the special dressing that prevents viral -- or substantially reduces viral

shedding. You reduce risk to others. You decrease the effectiveness of an

attack, and you take the -- you essentially take the teeth out of the

bioterror...

O'REILLY: All right.

BICKNELL: ... weapon.

O'REILLY: Now, Dr. , is Dr. Bicknell crazy or what? He's saying

exactly the opposite of what you're saying? He's recommending...

FOSTER: Well, we, we...

O'REILLY: ... that people do take the vaccine.

FOSTER: We do have points of agreement. The vaccination of the military is

clearly a military decision. And the Committee on Immunization Practice

recognize -- recommended vaccination of health workers. I support that.

What I do not support is vaccination of the general public.

O'REILLY: Yes, we got that.

FOSTER: There...

O'REILLY: But Dr. Bicknell's...

FOSTER: There...

O'REILLY: ... stats say your fears are unfounded, sir.

FOSTER: Well, he quotes the total vaccinations. What actually the risk is

greatest in those that have not been vaccinated previously. And there was

one death per million in that group.

O'REILLY: All right, now...

BICKNELL: Well, if you look at that, you just...

O'REILLY: I don't, I don't...

BICKNELL: ... want to...

O'REILLY: ... want to argue stats.

BICKNELL: OK, fine, OK.

O'REILLY: I mean, people can make up their own mind.

BICKNELL: Sure.

O'REILLY: We have two very respected doctors. One wouldn't advise it, one

does. And I guess you have to go to your own physician and bat it around.

Now, how intense do you think, Dr. Bicknell, this threat of smallpox by al

Qaeda against us is?

BICKNELL: I -- you know, I can't -- I have no knowledge other than what I

read in the papers. I think the threat is above zero, and if it happens, it

will be a terrible thing, and that's why preexposure immunization makes a

lot of sense, and that's why individual Americans, once first responders are

done, should have the opportunity to decide for themselves...

O'REILLY: Yes, and we will.

BICKNELL: ... what they think the risk is.

O'REILLY: We will, in 2004. How about you, Dr. , do you have any

measuring rod on the threat itself?

FOSTER: I think the risk is very small. I'm not in a position to quantitate

it. My fear is not of smallpox coming into the United States.

We will control it within a short period of time. My fear is should it get

loose in the Middle East and Africa, then all hell would come loose.

O'REILLY: You bet. All right. Thank you, gentlemen. We appreciate it. We

want to alert everybody that they should always consult with their own

personal physician about their own safety. Thank you very much, gentlemen.