2
state hospitals won't give staff smallpox vaccine
By Jeremy Manier
Tribune staff reporter
Published December 19, 2002
Two Illinois hospitals have joined a growing group of
medical centers nationwide that are opting out of a federal plan to
vaccinate emergency workers against smallpox, reflecting concerns that
the known risks of the vaccine may outweigh the uncertain threat of a
terrorist attack with the virus.
Carle Foundation Hospital in Champaign and Decatur Memorial Hospital in
Decatur notified the Illinois Department of Public Health in the last
week that their workers will not be vaccinated, public health officials
said Wednesday.
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At least two other hospitals in Atlanta and Virginia also have said
they will not take part in the voluntary plan, citing the small but real
risk that vaccinated workers could suffer serious side effects or
accidentally transmit the vaccine's virus--which is different from
smallpox--to patients.
Such opposition could pose an obstacle to President Bush's plan,
announced last Friday, to vaccinate up to 11 million people against
smallpox, including a first round of 500,000 hospital and health agency
workers. Bush has stressed that participation is voluntary, and Illinois
health officials said they will not try to persuade hospitals to take
part.
Dr. James Leonard, chief executive officer of Carle Foundation Hospital,
said he struggled for more than a week over whether any of the 2,400
workers at his hospital would get inoculations.
Leonard said that after consulting with experts around the country, he
was struck by the consensus that while the risk of a smallpox attack is
unknown, the vaccine's risks are clear: Up to 52 people out of every
million vaccinated could experience life-threatening side effects, with
one to three dying. The vaccinia virus used for immunizations also can
pose a risk to people with weakened immune systems, including patients
with AIDS or cancer.
"I thought to myself, `What are we missing?'" Leonard said. "I came to
the conclusion that we were not missing anything--[the plan] had taken
on a life of its own, and I just couldn't justify the risk to the folks
that work here and to our organization."
Dr. Gary Noskin, chief of infection control at Northwestern Memorial
Hospital in Chicago, said the hospital has not yet decided whether to
take part in the smallpox plan. He said some experts fear that news of
adverse reactions to smallpox vaccines could sour the public on shots
for diseases with a more immediate threat, such as measles.
Another concern is legal liability for vaccine side effects. Although
the recently passed Homeland Security Act would protect municipal health
agencies, experts say it's unclear whether hospitals could be held
liable for complications that their employees or patients experience.
"I suspect that will be tested in the courts," Noskin said.
Illinois officials asked 152 hospitals outside Chicago to submit their
plans for smallpox vaccination by Dec. 13. About 75 percent of hospitals
had returned their plans as of Wednesday, public health spokesman Tom
Schafer said. The Carle Foundation Hospital and Decatur Memorial are the
only two that have said they will not take part.
Chicago public health officials said their preparations will take
another few weeks, but so far no city hospitals have told authorities
that they will not participate.
Schafer said health officials will not try to persuade hospitals to take
part. In the event of an actual smallpox attack, he said even hospitals
that do not participate could be protected. The smallpox vaccine can
provide protection up to 72 hours after someone has been exposed to the
virus, and federal plans call for the ability to vaccinate every person
in the U.S. within 10 days in case of an outbreak.
"In the event of a localized outbreak, the vaccine would be offered in
those areas first," Schafer said.
As for the current vaccination plan, Schafer said, "We've stressed that
it's strictly a voluntary program."
Copyright © 2002,
Chicago Tribune
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