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December 16, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"US Children Unlikely to Receive Smallpox Inoculations"

Dow Jones Newswire (www.djnewswires.com) (12/14/02)

Citing health risks, U.S. officials have decided not to extend the smallpox vaccine to children under the new vaccination program currently being implemented.  Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief of vaccine development and bioterrorism programs at the National Institutes of Health, said children are automatically disqualified from receiving the vaccination since ethical and safety issues prevented them from being included in the clinical trials now underway.  Researchers initially sought to include toddlers in a clinical trial that tried to determine if diluted doses of the vaccine were as effective as full-strength doses, but they quickly abandoned the plan after research oversight boards at universities expressed concern about ethics and safety.  The Food and Drug Administration sought public comment on the issue, and, according to Fauci, the "vast majority" said that children should not be included in the research.

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