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July 31, 2002
INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"UK Defends Smallpox Vaccine Decision"
BBC News Online (www.bbc.co.uk) (07/30/02)
The U.K. government is sticking by its choice of smallpox
vaccine, despite claims made by U.S. researchers that question
the effectiveness of the vaccine in an emergency situation. In
April, British health ministers decided to stockpile the nation's
vaccine supply for smallpox to protect Britons in the event of a
terrorist attack. A contract was eventually awarded to
Powderject Pharmaceuticals--an act that would later haunt health
officials because the contract was awarded without a public
competition. Adding fuel to the fire was the disclosure that
Powderject's CEO made a substantial contribution to the Labour
Party shortly before the contract winner was announced. The U.K.
government opted for the Lister strain vaccine, which has been
used in the country since the 1950s. However, researchers from
the Potomac Institute in the United States say that the United
Kingdom may have purchased the wrong kind of vaccine. U.S.
officials have chosen to stockpile a different type of smallpox
vaccine, one which was developed by the New York Health
Department and has been show to be effective in fighting smallpox
in India. In response to the criticism, Health Secretary Alan
Milburn stated: "The best advice that we've got is that the
smallpox vaccine that we've bought protects against all known
forms of the disease."
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