[North Coast Conservative]

Did you know that the smallpox serum is cultured from cell lines derived from aborted fetuses? I refuse to be treated with anything derived from the murder of another human being.

In God We Trust.....Semper Fi

[arkfreepdom]

It does not have to come from aborted fetus cell lines. It is a disservice to tell people it does. 1/3 of unvaccinated children could die in an epidemic. I agree with you on stopping use of these cell lines, though.

[Black Agnes]

Not just the smallpox vaccine, several others. The issue here is the talk of 'mandatory vaccination' and the sole and exclusive use of fetal cell lines to produce the vaccine. They would NEVER use pig cells because the Jews or Moslems would be offended. Why do Christians get shafted? Why the complete lack of choice for those of us with religious issues with this type of vaccine preparation? Why not produce an alternate using the previous method (that most everyone innoculated with it when it was available used) for those of us with religious issues?

New Smalllpox Vaccine May Use Aborted Fetal Cell Line, MRC-5

[Dixie Mom]

The manufacturer referred to in the WP article using human stem cell lines to produce the vaccine is Acambis, located in the UK. According to the following article at least 10 other companies are proposing to produce the vaccine for the government.

I agree with your position on the use of human stem cells. Does anyone know how to locate these other proposals to learn of their manufacturing methods?

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Major Drugmakers Hope to Supply US Government With Smallpox Vaccine

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) Oct 29 - GlaxoSmithKline said on Friday that it would seek to begin manufacturing smallpox vaccine to help prepare the United States for the possibility that the disease could be used in a bioterrorist attack.

Following meetings with Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, the company told the press it had submitted a proposal to regulators to begin making and supplying smallpox inoculations.

American Home Products will submit a plan as well, that company said on Friday. The firm's Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories division made a smallpox vaccine from 1944 until mid-1980, but stopped production because the disease had been declared eradicated.

Merck & Co. has also said it is in talks with the government about producing the vaccine.

In all, the US government has received 10 proposals from companies wishing to develop and supply the product, according to Thompson, who has requested $509 million from Congress to build up stockpiles of the vaccine.

The UK's Acambis, which said earlier this month that it had speeded up development of its smallpox vaccine, already has a 20-year contract with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for an initial 40 million doses. Acambis expects to begin clinical trials early next year and make the first deliveries in 2004.

Thompson said he hopes to have the new proposals reviewed and evaluated this week. The government has asked the interested companies to detail how they could meet US demand within 12 months.

Vaccine production could begin as soon as the end of November or the start of December, Thompson said.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization stressed on Friday that mass inoculations for smallpox are unwise unless there is a real risk of exposure, noting that the vaccine can have serious side effects.