http://www.immunizationinfo.org/newsbriefs/detail.cfm?id=7042&kw=&sorting=date&type=d&pub=&d1=03/04/02&d2=03/07/02&pubdate=&author=
Lyme
Vaccine Program Faulted
Albany Times Union;
B1
Wechsler, Alan
[03/06/2002]
In New York, the state inspector general's office has reported that the
New York Department of Environment Conservation's Lyme disease
vaccination program is "fundamentally flawed" because the vaccine was
given to many employees who were at slight risk of catching the disease.
In 1999, LYMErix injections were given to just over one-fifth of the
agency's 3,700 employees. However, the inspector general's office found
that only one-third of the employees who received the shots were
actually qualified under the terms of the program to receive the
vaccination. Under the terms of the pilot program, an employee had to
have a job that involved spending a certain amount of time in areas
known to be infected with deer ticks, the insects that carry the
disease-causing bacteria. The Department of Environmental Conservation
said it was the first agency of its type in the country to offer the
shots, which cost $130 per person. The company that make the vaccine,
GlaxoSmithKline, announced recently it would cease production of LYMErix,
citing low sales.
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2002.
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