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July 5, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Kaiser to Help Test Old Smallpox Vaccine for U.S."

San Jose Mercury News (www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews)

(07/03/02) P. B1; Ostrov, Barbara Feder

Kaiser Permanente's Vaccine Research Center, the University of Iowa, Vanderbilt University, and Baylor University will take up the task of finding out whether the 70 million-plus doses of frozen smallpox vaccine reported by Aventis Pasteur in March are still good, on behalf of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Kaiser researchers are recruiting patients for a nationwide study involving 400 to 500 subjects, and they plan to submit data to NIH in August.  Vaccine Research Center director Dr. Steven Black says that previous tests have shown that the vaccine seems safe, but he adds that the vaccine has been frozen for a long time and further tests are needed.

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