The person or persons responsible for the anthrax attacks knew what they were doing when they sent anthrax letters to members of Congress and the major media. Even though the attack produced only five deaths, a recent survey of Washington, D.C. residents found that a third of all residents worry that they might contract anthrax through the mail. Almost 17 percent of Washington adults fear that they or a family member will contract anthrax in the next year.

The book, "Living Terrors," co-authored by Dr. Michael Osterholm, an acknowledged expert in the field, was published more than a year ago. He said the likelihood of being infected by a bioterrorist attack is comparable to being struck by lightning. He seemed more worried about the anthrax and smallpox vaccines than the diseases themselves. The smallpox vaccine, in particular, has "side effects that would be unacceptable to many people today…" Osterholm worried about "disease hustlers" who would try to force these vaccines on everybody, when only a limited number of volunteer public health workers preparing for an outbreak of a disease would need to get vaccinated.

Hysteria over a possible smallpox outbreak has prompted the federal government to order enough smallpox vaccine for the entire U.S. population. Smallpox is contagious while anthrax is not. But the smallpox vaccine is also potentially dangerous.

Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center, warns that "we have to remember it is the most reactive vaccine that has ever been used in the human population. It caused more injuries and deaths than any other vaccine. It was a well-kept secret, but that basically is the truth." She said the vaccine itself might cause several hundred deaths and 70,000 severe reactions, including brain damage. Roger Pomerantz, director of the Center for Human Virology at Thomas Jefferson University, says a mass immunization smallpox campaign could result in at least 800 deaths from adverse reactions to the vaccine.

While the U.S. Government is spending $850 million on a live-virus smallpox vaccine from a British firm, Acambis, its partners, a Maryland company, Novavax, has received no federal help in developing a safer, less-toxic vaccine using an inactivated virus. Several members of Congress, including Reps. Dave Weldon and Roscoe Bartlett, recently held a congressional hearing where officials of the company described their approach. Recognizing smallpox as a real and serious threat, Novavax uses a dead virus and special additives to stimulate the necessary immune response. The company said that such a vaccine could potentially eliminate adverse reactions and would be safe for the entire population. Initial testing has shown promising results.

In going forward with a risky, live-virus vaccine, the federal government may be making a huge mistake. But the major media have shown no interest in trying to put the brakes on this policy. The congressional hearing got some coverage in USA Today and back in the business section of the Washington Post, but was generally ignored by the major media.