Bioterrorism Watch Archives – March 1, 2003

March 1, 2003

• Israel reports 4 hospitalized among 18,000 smallpox immunizations

  In emerging findings that will fuel more debate about immunizing U.S. health care workers for smallpox, a similar program in Israel has resulted in four hospitalizations including the immunocompromised wife of a vaccinee, Bioterrorism Watch has learned.

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• Smallpox Vaccine Alert: Use only three needle sticks for first-time vaccinees

  Health care workers receiving their first lifetime vaccination for smallpox only should be stuck three times with the bifurcated immunization needle not the 15 skin pricks previously recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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• IOM: Set trigger before a vaccine death occurs

  With its smallpox immunization plan now under way in the nations hospitals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must decide how many adverse reactions and deaths are acceptable before modifying or halting the program, told a special smallpox review panel formed at the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in Washington, DC.

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• How not to run a bioterror immunization campaign

  Harsh lessons learned from the governments forced anthrax vaccination campaign in the military include poor communication, driving people out of the service, and massive underreporting of adverse reactions among those immunized, according to a report by the General Accounting Office (GAO).

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