9 replies to this topic

[bobdrake12]

http://story.news.ya...ox_vaccinations

Tue, Mar 25, 2003

Woman Vaccinated Against Smallpox Dies (excerpts)

By LAURA MECKLER, Associated Press writer

WASHINGTON - A Maryland nurse recently vaccinated against smallpox died over the weekend of a heart attack, and health officials are trying to determine whether the inoculation contributed to her death, an official familiar with the case said Tuesday.

Based on historic data, a small number of people who receive smallpox vaccinations will die, but the vaccination has never been associated with heart problems before.

[bobdrake12]

http://story.news.ya...mallpox_vaccine

Second Heart Death Tied to Smallpox Vaccine (excerpts)
Thu Mar 27, 7:00 PM ET
By Amanda Gardner

THURSDAY, March 27 (HealthScoutNews) -- Two women have now died apparently as a result of heart attacks suffered in the wake of receiving vaccinations against the smallpox virus.

Five other individuals have developed heart-related conditions, including one additional heart attack, two cases of angina (news - web sites) (chest pain), and two cases of myopericarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle or sac surrounding the heart.

Edited by bobdrake12, 28 March 2003 - 04:14 AM.

[bobdrake12]

http://story.news.ya...vaccinations_12

Heart Patients Warned of Smallpox Vaccine (excerpt)
Wed Mar 26, 5:40 AM ET
By LAURA MECKLER, Associated Press writer

WASHINGTON - Health officials are recommending that people with heart disease not get vaccinated against smallpox as authorities investigate a possible link between the vaccine and heart problems.

[bobdrake12]

http://story.news.ya...compensation_dc

Smallpox Compensation Bill Stalls in U.S. House (excerpts)
Thu Mar 27, 5:30 PM ET
By Julie Rovner

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - The U.S. House on Thursday put off until at least next week a vote on a bill to create a federal compensation program for health care workers injured or killed by side effects of the smallpox vaccine.

The House was scheduled to vote this week on a bill that closely mirrored the Bush administration plan unveiled in February. It called for a lump-sum benefit, currently $262,100, for those killed or permanently disabled by the vaccine. For those less severely injured, the program would pay two thirds of lost wages after a worker missed five days of work, up to a maximum of $50,000.

[bobdrake12]

http://story.news.ya...ox_inoculations

More May Be at Risk from Smallpox Inoculations (excerpts)
Wed Mar 26,11:46 PM ET
By Amanda Gardner
HealthScoutNews Reporter


TUESDAY, March 25 (HealthScoutNews) -- Many more hospital patients than previously thought may be at risk of getting smallpox-related complications from health-care workers who have recently been vaccinated under the federal government's program.

A survey of New York state hospitals found that at any one point in time, more than half of inpatients have one or more conditions that could put them at increased risk for secondary transmission, says a research letter published in the March 26 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (news - web sites).

Live vaccinia virus -- which causes a virus related to smallpox, but milder -- is present at the vaccination site for up to three weeks after inoculation and can be transmitted to other parts of the body or to other individuals via direct contact.

[bobdrake12]

http://story.news.ya...vaccinations_30

Fri, Mar 28, 2003
Third Death Follows Smallpox Vaccination (excerpts)
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A 55-year-old National Guardsman died this week from a heart attack, the Pentagon (news - web sites) said Friday, in the third such death that followed a smallpox vaccination.


The Defense Department is joining the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites) in deferring people with heart disease from the vaccinations until any possible relationship can be investigated, said Dr. Bill Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.


In Florida, where a health worker died this week after a heart attack, officials suspended their smallpox vaccination program while the issue is investigated. New York put its program on hold early this week.


On Friday, a federal advisory committee was considering how many people should be excluded from the vaccination effort. One option being considered would exclude anyone over age 50.

Edited by bobdrake12, 28 March 2003 - 10:14 PM.

[bobdrake12]

http://story.news.ya...vaccinations_20

Compensation Urged in Smallpox Program (excerpts)
Thu Mar 27,11:03 AM ET
By LAURA MECKLER, Associated Press writer


WASHINGTON - If the federal governments wants a successful smallpox inoculation program, it must provide money to the states and compensation to people injured by the vaccine, the Institute of Medicine (news - web sites) said Thursday.

The Bush administration put forth a plan that would pay $262,500 for people who are killed or permanently injured. The individual would also get two-thirds of lost wages, up to a maximum of $50,000.

Democrats are promoting a more generous package. They want a higher cap for lost wages and guaranteed funding for the program; the Republican plan would force this program to compete with others during the appropriations process.

[bobdrake12]

http://www.ama-assn....02/hlsb0819.htm



Smallpox vaccine hazards dictate cautious approach (excerpts)
With the greater number of immunocompromised people today, there are more public health concerns with immunization policy than in past years.
By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. Aug. 19, 2002.


Washington -- Physicians receiving or administering the smallpox vaccine as part of a federal plan to counter bioterrorism should be aware that the recipient of the vaccine isn't the only one at risk for complications.

"There is a significant possibility of person-to-person transmission," noted Scott D. Deitchman, MD, MPH, chair of the AMA's bioterrorism subcommittee and a member of the AMA Council on Scientific Affairs.

The risk is substantial, as the vaccination site will harbor a large amount of live virus capable of replicating, he said. The risk subsides when the site scabs over, two weeks or more after immunization.

The vaccine itself is probably the "least safe human vaccine," said Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at a July 25 briefing on smallpox vaccination sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform.

Complications can result in death for vaccine recipients as well as for those they come into contact with.

Physicians will need to counsel patients about the risk of spreading the vaccinia virus used in the smallpox vaccine either to other members of their households or to other parts of their own bodies, said Dr. Deitchman.

Risks posed by the vaccine have led physician groups, including the AMA and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, to advise against a broad vaccination campaign before there is any evidence that the disease has made an appearance in the country.

[bobdrake12]

http://seattlepi.nws...mallpox18.shtml



Wednesday, December 18, 2002

Smallpox vaccine risks outweigh benefits (excerpts)

By MARC SIEGEL
PROFESSOR

For military personnel and health care and emergency workers, immediate vaccination is probably prudent. The old live-virus vaccine offers temporary immunity against smallpox.

In fact those who received this vaccine more than 30 years ago probably still have some protection.

But the old vaccine has a real downside. It can cause brain swelling, skin problems and infection, problems that are not insignificant when millions of people are being vaccinated.

Further, there are other smallpox vaccines in the works that appear to be safer. In two of these vaccines the viral particles used are not live.

One version is undergoing clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health. Another version has been used in Japan to immunize hundreds of thousands of people.

It would be foolish to vaccinate millions of people here in a panic, only to discover that a better, safer vaccine is on the verge of being approved.

If smallpox hits, the most important response will be to quarantine those who have been infected, since smallpox generally spreads from person to person via airborne droplets.

The second most important response will be to administer the live vaccine in areas where the disease has appeared, for immunization after infection reduces the mortality rate to less than 10 percent. No matter how smallpox arrives -- if it does arrive -- there will be plenty of time to react before a large population is affected.


Marc Siegel is associate professor of medicine at the New York University School of Medicine. Copyright 2002 The New York Times.

Edited by bobdrake12, 29 March 2003 - 11:45 PM.

[bobdrake12]

http://www.usatoday....over-usat_x.htm



Posted 1/20/2003 9:44 PM Updated 1/21/2003 7:35 AM

Hospitals balk at smallpox vaccine (excerpts)

By Laura Parker, USA TODAY


More than 80 hospitals from every region in the USA, including leading teaching hospitals and large, urban public hospitals, are forgoing the vaccinations. The dissenters are a tiny fraction of the 3,000 hospitals recruited by state health officials to vaccinate doctors, nurses and other hospital staff members who are most likely to care for smallpox patients.

But their numbers are growing as doctors and administrators at hospitals around the USA are concluding that the known health risks from the vaccine, which can cause illness and even death, outweigh the unquantifiable risks of smallpox being used as a terrorist weapon.

Almost as a rule, hospital administrators say they are reluctant to make some of their employees sick to protect them from a disease that no longer exists and would reappear only in the chance of a terrorist act.