[NVIC] Mixed Report on Smallpox Vaccine Risks

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E-NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER

Vienna, Virginia http://www.nvic.org

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" Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982. "

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This:

" ..... at its best it remains a very hazardous

vaccine, " said Schaffner, a vaccine expert at Vanderbilt University

Medical Center. " Eighty-five hospitalizations, two permanent disabilities,

10 life-threatening reactions and three deaths. This is not a safe vaccine. "

And then this:

Bicknell said the ongoing military program highlights the need to revive

civilian immunizations. " If it's a threat to the military, it's a threat to

civilians too, " he said.

BL Fisher Note:

Within several months of September 11, 2001, NVIC published a report

" Smallpox and Forced Vaccination: What Every American Needs to Know " which

alerted the public about the risks associated with smallpox vaccine and the

plan to force smallpox vaccination civilians as well as soldiers. The

militarization of the civilian public health system in America continues to

take place as the public is being conditioned to live in perpetual fear of

exaggerated bioterrorism and pandemic flu " threats. " Media relations

campaigns powered by government health agencies and pharmaceutical companies

continue to beat the drum to create anxiety in the people and politicians so

they will pass legislation that forces use of poorly regulated vaccines

during public health " emergencies " while preventing citizen access to the

judicial system to seek compensation for vaccine injuries. Go to

www.nvic.org to learn more.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/06/AR2005120601

595.html?nav=rss_health

The Washington Post

Mixed Report on Smallpox Inoculations

Side Effects Less Common Than Feared, but Heart Ills Remain a Mystery

By Ceci Connolly

Washington Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, December 7, 2005; Page A05

The voluntary smallpox vaccination campaign announced by President Bush

three years ago did not produce the plethora of side effects many in the

medical community feared, an analysis released yesterday found. But it

remains a mystery why a few dozen adults who were inoculated suffered

severe, and in some cases fatal, heart complications.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said the findings prove

that careful screening, education and monitoring can dramatically reduce the

dangerous complications associated with a live vaccine that has not changed

since it was first developed in the late 1700s. Of the 38,000 civilian

volunteers vaccinated, none developed the life-threatening rashes that were

more common when the vaccine was used widely four decades ago, said the

CDC's Mootrey.

Some independent researchers however, questioned the original rationale for

the program and said the results highlighted the enormous costs -- both

financial and medical -- associated with inoculating even a tiny fraction

the population.

" This was the safest possible vaccination program that could be undertaken

with the smallpox vaccine, but at its best it remains a very hazardous

vaccine, " said Schaffner, a vaccine expert at Vanderbilt University

Medical Center. " Eighty-five hospitalizations, two permanent disabilities,

10 life-threatening reactions and three deaths. This is not a safe vaccine. "

Routine smallpox vaccination ended in the United States in 1971, and by 1980

the World Health Organization declared the disease eradicated. In December

2002, as the nation prepared for the Iraq war, Bush called for as many as 10

million health care workers and emergency personnel to be vaccinated so they

could serve as the front-line responders in the event of a bioterrorist

assault.

Doctors and nurses balked, complaining that the risks of the ancient vaccine

far outweighed the threat of a smallpox attack.

" The reason this vaccination campaign was undertaken was spurious. It was a

mirage, there was no threat of smallpox from Iraq, " Schaffner said. " And

that remains a powerfully sad coda to this whole episode. "

Just 38,000 first responders came forward, and since then, Bush and other

high-ranking officials have rarely mentioned the effort. More than 75,000

doses of expired vaccine have been discarded.

" The program still exists, " Mootrey said. " However, it's up to the states to

determine whether they wish to have any potential response team members

vaccinated. "

Of those immunized, 822 reported an adverse reaction, though the vast

majority were complaints of itching, pain or rash that dissipated quickly,

according to the article, being published in today's edition of the Journal

of the American Medical Association. One hundred cases, or 12 percent, were

designated as serious. Those included six heart attacks, two of which were

fatal, and 21 cases of nonfatal inflammation of the heart muscle.

Since the data were collected, 1,000 more people have been vaccinated.

The data did little to quell the debate over whether the administration

should pursue its stalled campaign.

" For sure, 39,000 civilians immunized is nowhere near enough to respond

adequately to a bioterrorism event, " said Bicknell, a former

Massachusetts public health director. " There are whole aspects of

bioterrorism preparedness where we really have not moved significantly in

the last several years. "

But White House spokesman Trent Duffy said the inoculation of 39,000

civilians " is a lot better than where we were three years ago. We believe

plans are in place to vaccinate the entire U.S. population within 10 days "

of an attack.

Both Bicknell and bioterrorism expert T. Osterholm said that if

there is a suspected case of smallpox, it would be critical for first

responders to be able to safely examine and treat potential cases and then

inoculate the general public.

Without that cadre of immunized workers, " lines would start to form outside

emergency rooms and we would lose control in the first 72 hours, " said

Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy

at the University of Minnesota. " The program did not get us prepared for a

basic response to smallpox. "

A second article detailed adverse reactions in 600,000 military personnel

who were inoculated. The complication rates were similar to what would be

expected in that age group, the authors found.

Bicknell said the ongoing military program highlights the need to revive

civilian immunizations. " If it's a threat to the military, it's a threat to

civilians too, " he said.

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