July 20, 2003

By Mark Weiner
Staff writer

Onondaga County health officials have halted their smallpox vaccination clinics after receiving about 70 volunteers for a program intended to inoculate more than 600 people in the first phase.

The local numbers mirror a statewide trend, where volunteers were fewer than expected. Of 16,000 medical first responders who were eligible to receive the vaccine statewide, only 1,089 New Yorkers have been vaccinated, health officials say.

Due to the low demand, the state Health Department will incinerate 650 doses of the smallpox vaccine that are about to expire, said Kristine Smith, a department spokeswoman in Albany.

Dr. Lloyd Novick, Onondaga County's health commissioner, said the county is still prepared to react quickly to any bioterror threat involving smallpox. The county has served as a regional vaccination site for all of Central New York.

"We have about 70 individuals in Syracuse between the local health department, state health department and the local hospitals that have been vaccinated," Novick said. "That's a sufficient number to respond to an emergency."

Smith agreed.

"We believe that thanks to the training received by numerous individuals around the state that, should the need arise, we could do mass vaccinations very

quickly," she said.

Novick said the urgency to vaccinate medical personnel, police, fire and emergency workers changed along with the federal smallpox strategy. That strategy now focuses on preparedness to inoculate large numbers of people in a short time.

Onondaga County health officials are developing an emergency plan to vaccinate the county's full population of more than 458,000 within seven to 10 days.

Novick said that plan could be complete by the end of this year. But he's confident enough health care workers have been vaccinated and trained to handle the emergency response.

Of those who did receive the vaccination, no serious adverse reactions were reported in New York state. Novick said one or two people had mild side effects in Central New York.

The number of volunteers dropped nationwide after federal health officials said the vaccine may be dangerous for those with a history of heart problems. A national panel of cardiologists is investigating.

Up to 600 local hospital workers, county health department employees and others on the front lines of emergency medicine were candidates to receive the first round of vaccinations in Onondaga County.

A second round of vaccinations for emergency workers such as police and paramedics never took place.

Federal health officials have also considered a plan to begin nationwide mass smallpox vaccinations as early as 2004.

For now, Novick said the vaccine will be offered only to health care workers who request the inoculation.

"If there are other health care workers who want to be vaccinated, we will certainly try to accomplish that," he said.

President Bush ordered the smallpox vaccinations as part of his bioterrorism preparedness plan announced Dec. 13. Up to 500,000 civilian volunteers were to be vaccinated in the first phase of the program.

A mandatory military smallpox program vaccinated more than 100,000 members of the armed forces.

Although the president saw no imminent threat, he wanted to establish volunteer "smallpox response teams" in local health departments that can treat and vaccinate others in the event of a bioterror attack.

Onondaga County health officials vaccinated only those who had received previous smallpox vaccinations. Medical studies suggest those who had a previous smallpox vaccination are less likely to have a bad reaction to a new one.

The U.S. government stopped mandatory vaccinations in 1972, when smallpox was no longer a threat in most places. In 1980, the World Health Organization declared the virus eradicated worldwide.