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“Protecting the health and
informed consent rights of children since 1982.”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/healthscience/health/bioterrorism/2001-12-06-smallpox.htm
12/06/2001 - Updated 04:07 PM ET
Lawmakers seek alternative smallpox vaccine
About 20% of the U.S. population could not safely take the
smallpox vaccine the government is buying for the nation’s stockpile, so health
officials should consider buying other types of vaccines as well, some members
of Congress say.
“There are questions about whether this type of vaccine,
which utilizes a live virus, will really do the job for all Americans,” says a
letter signed by four members of Congress, who will hold a briefing on the
topic today.
Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., called the informal session after
meeting with biotech firm Novavax, which is working to create a smallpox
vaccine using a “killed,” or inactivated, virus. Researchers from Columbia,
Md.-based Novavax will speak at the briefing, along with a virologist from
Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
Weldon, along with Reps. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md.; Joseph
Hoeffel, D-Pa.; and Connie Morella, R-Md., signed a “Dear Colleague” letter
asking members of Congress to attend the briefing.
The briefing follows last week’s action by the Department
of Health and Human Services to sign a second contract with British firm
Acambis to produce a new formulation of the former smallpox vaccine, which was
credited with wiping out the deadly disease worldwide by the late 1970s.
All told, the government contracts are worth $850 million
to Acambis and its partners, who must produce 209 million doses of a live-virus
smallpox vaccine by the end of next year.
Because the Acambis vaccine is expected to have the same
serious side effects as its predecessor, health officials say the vaccine will
be used only in case of a terrorist-caused outbreak of the disease. They have
no plans to begin a mass immunization campaign.
A mass immunization campaign could result in at least 800
deaths from adverse reactions to the vaccine, says Roger Pomerantz, director of
the Center for Human Virology at Thomas Jefferson University.
Weldon says in the letter to Congress that the government “needs
a vaccine that can be administered before an outbreak of smallpox.”
To do so, the U.S. would need a safer vaccine. The one
under development by Acambis is likely to cause side effects that range from
swollen arms to death. Those barred from safely taking the vaccine include the
very young, very old and people who have eczema, are pregnant or have
compromised immune systems from cancer therapy, transplants or HIV infection.
“We would like to see a less-toxic vaccine,” Pomerantz
says.
Novavax says its killed-virus vaccine may be the answer,
although some researchers question whether such a vaccine would prove
effective. The firm plans to begin production of its vaccine early next year
but still faces months, if not years, of testing.
Novavax is paying for the efforts so far but has made no
secret that it would like financial help from the U.S. government, possibly
through the National Institutes of Health.
Pomerantz says the government should spend what it takes
to find a new, safer vaccine that could be given to the entire population.
Smallpox, which causes pustules over the entire body, kills about 30% of its
victims and disfigures survivors.
“If they need a billion dollars to do this (develop a
safer vaccine), add $4 to everyone’s tax bill,” Pomerantz says. “If we had a
good, safe vaccine, we would revaccinate the U.S.”
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