Health unions urge workers
to wait due to
safety concerns
Dr.
Marcia Trape, left, gives Dr. James Hadler a smallpox shot Friday in
Farmington, Conn. Hadler was the first volunteer participant in the
campaign to vaccinate up to 500,000 health care workers
MSNBC NEWS SERVICES
Jan. 24 — Just
four people, far fewer than expected, got smallpox vaccinations Friday
as Connecticut became the first state to begin inoculating health
workers against a possible bioterror threat. The small turnout, due in
large part to health unions’ safety and liability concerns, was a feeble
start to the Bush administration’s plan to vaccinate nearly 500,000
health workers across the country.
‘I
think there are a lot of people sitting on the fence at this point, waiting
to see how the first phase goes.’
—
CHRISTOPHER CANNON
Office
of Emergency Preparedness for the Yale-New Haven Health System
THE STATE’S
plan was for at least all 20 members of Connecticut’s “Genesis Team” to get
the shots before fanning out across the state to administer the vaccine to
other doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners who volunteer.
But the number of volunteers dwindled all week and dropped sharply
when a nurses union recommended waiting until liability questions are
resolved, said Dr. Michael Grey, associate professor of clinical medicine at
the University of Connecticut medical school and head of the team.
A law protecting those giving the shots from lawsuits took effect
Friday.
The vaccine itself can cause a handful of serious reactions and even
death, and some health care workers and hospitals have refused to take part.
Grey said the union and hospital officials are discussing the situation.
4 PEOPLE VACCINATED
“I’m feeling fine, thank you,” said Dr. Robert Fuller, one of the
four who was injected. The 38-year-old emergency room physician added: “I
know the risks.”
Besides Fuller, Richard Garibaldi, James Hadler and Marcia Trape also
received the injections, delivered into their arms in 15 rapid punctures
from a two-pronged needle. Hadler is the state epidemiologist; Garibaldi is
chairman of medicine at UConn’s hospital; Trape is clinical director of
occupational and environmental medicine at UConn Health Center.
In addition to health workers,
President Bush has ordered the vaccination of 500,000 military troops.
Eventually up to 10 million people will be vaccinated.
The California Nurses Association on Thursday urged hospitals in the
state not to participate in the program, saying there was no proof a
smallpox attack is likely.
In a letter to Bush, Barbara Blakeney, president of the American
Nurses Association, said: “Without a resolution of these concerns, ANA
cannot fully support the smallpox vaccination program at this time.”
In a recent survey, 63 percent of 2,600 nurses responding said they
would get the smallpox shot, 13 percent said they wouldn’t and 24 percent
were undecided, according to the National Network for Immunization
Information, a coalition of several health trade groups.
In Connecticut, where health officials eventually hope to vaccinate
about 6,000 workers — an average of 150 per hospital — the early response
among health workers was disappointing to officials.
Christopher Cannon of the Office of Emergency Preparedness for the
Yale-New Haven Health System has overseen vaccine education programs at 17
hospitals in southern Connecticut. He said those hospitals are averaging
between 20 and 30 volunteers.
“It’s not overwhelming,” Cannon said. “I think there are a lot of
people sitting on the fence at this point, waiting to see how the first
phase goes.”
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The risk of a
smallpox attack is unknown, and the chance that any given person will be
exposed is small, an advisory panel for the Institute of Medicine said
recently in urging the government to go slower with the vaccinations.
But the risks of the vaccine are well-known. Some people may have
sore arms and fever or feel sick enough to miss work. As many as 40 people
out of every million vaccinated for the first time will face
life-threatening reactions, and one or two will die.
The vaccine is not recommended for people with skin problems, such as
eczema, or those with weak immune systems, such as HIV, transplant or cancer
patients. The government says even people with close family members in those
categories should be screened out.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND
MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION
PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS
OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR
LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND
COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH
YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.
"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."
-- Albert Einstein, letter to a friend, 1901
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820
"What's the point of vaccination if it doesn't protect you from the unvaccinated?"
-- Sandy Gottstein
"Who gets to decide what the greater good is and how many will be sacrificed to it?"
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