http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17710-2001Dec22.html
Anthrax
Vaccine Proves Hard Sell
Postal Employees Opt for More Pills
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By Avram Goldstein
and Helen Dewar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 23, 2001; Page A18
By last night, at least 40 workers had attended group counseling sessions at
the V Street NE station, where government mail is sorted, officials said.
After participating in individual CDC counseling last week, several postal
workers said yesterday they would not volunteer for the vaccination program,
which has been criticized by local and state officials as unjustified. And some
postal workers who had been to the briefings said officials seemed to be
pushing additional antibiotics rather than vaccinations.
A couple of workers who went through a counseling session said they decided
to take more pills. One of them, Leon Bean, said: "They're not pushing the
vaccine. . . . My wife called me and told me to take the pills, so I'm going to
take the pills."
Federal officials had not recommended the vaccine but instead made it
available to those who might have been exposed to anthrax spores and who would
be willing to try it without assurances it would work or any promise of
financial or medical assistance if it made them sick.
CDC officials have said the vaccine has not been proved effective in
preventing infection after exposure to anthrax spores and is not approved for that
purpose. Its only previous use was in the armed forces as a preventative, not a
therapy. Even if it helps individuals, CDC officials say, the vaccine is
assumed to help only for several months.
The uncertainties left many workers unwilling to participate, preferring
instead to simply extend their antibiotic regimen to 100 days.
"I figure 98 percent of people are not taking the shot," said
Larry Prowell, 52, of Capitol Heights, who works at the V Street postal
station.
His views were echoed by Robert L. Henderson, a friend and co-worker of
Thomas L. Morris Jr., one of two who died of anthrax contracted at the
Brentwood mail processing facility in Northeast Washington.
"You're not shooting me with nothing," he said. "I'm
distraught with this situation. . . . My family is afraid for me being here. I
love this job, but they can't prove to me [the vaccine is] going to help
me."
The reaction has been different on Capitol Hill, where fewer people were
exposed to anthrax spores and no one got sick. On Thursday, 48 of 70 Senate
staffers deemed to be at risk got the first of three shots over a month, and
several said they had few reservations about the vaccine regimen.
"For me, it wasn't a close call at all," said a 39-year-old
legislative aide who spoke on condition of anonymity. He is an assistant to
Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) and was nearby when the
contaminated letter was opened Oct. 15.
He said he considered the Army's experience and read materials from Capitol
and military doctors. "I know I got a pretty good snort full of anthrax,
and they really don't know enough about anthrax to tell at this stage of the
game, after taking 60 days of antibiotics, how much of it is left in our
systems," the aide said.
The only side effect of the vaccination was soreness at the injection site,
he said.
While consultations began with D.C. postal workers, CDC officials in New
Jersey and Florida began handing out packs of antibiotics to people who have
used up their 60-day supplies. The extra medication is designed to keep them
protected until they decide next week whether to take the vaccine and more oral
antibiotics, take just the extra 40-day supply of pills or end their
participation in the program.
Decisions will be made later about offering similar educational activities
and "bridge" doses of antibiotics in Connecticut and New York, where
the 60-day periods will run out next month, said Azeezaly Jaffer, the Postal
Service's vice president of public affairs.
CDC plans to mail information to every affected worker in the District, and
Jaffer said supervisors will discuss the vaccinations to supplement the
messages they will see in a video and in counseling sessions.
"This is all part of our due diligence to make sure every employee
receives the information," he said. "Repetition is a good thing
here."
Staff writer Clarence Williams contributed to this report.
© 2001
The Washington Post Company
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