Posted on 12/17/2002 5:38:34 AM PST by jriemer
The state's largest public hospital will not participate in a massive public health campaign to vaccinate hundreds of front-line hospital workers against smallpox.
Grady officials announced Dec. 16 that the hospital will back away from the Georgia Division of Public Health's voluntary vaccination program for health-care workers, set to roll out as early as late January.
"Grady has balanced the known dangers of the smallpox vaccine, which can in some instances cause serious side effects, against the unlikely risk of exposure to the smallpox virus," said Grady spokesperson Karen Frashier, in a press release.
"As a result, Grady will not vaccinate its health care workers for smallpox at this time, but would move rapidly to vaccinate health care workers if a case of smallpox is reported, or a clearly imminent danger of smallpox transmission is shown to exist," Frashier said.
Grady's infectious disease specialists have studied the situation closely and consulted other leading authorities, including a former member of the CDC smallpox eradication program.
Georgia has received no information identifying the existence of a bioterrorist threat or the capacity of any enemy to launch an attack on Georgia with smallpox, the release stated.
As a result, Grady Health System has instead approved a non-emergency policy "that we believe is in the best interest, safety and health of our patients and our health care workers," stated Frashier in the release.
Grady's decision comes on the heels of the announcement of Georgia's smallpox preparedness plan, which calls for vaccinating fewer than 500 Georgians, including core groups of health-care providers at trauma centers around the state.
The state's plan is considered conservative compared with other vaccination programs.
At the federal level, President George W. Bush has announced that some one million Americans — members of the military and smallpox response teams — will be vaccinated over the next two months.
"I fully support what (Grady is) doing. This is voluntary," said Dr. Kathleen Toomey, director of Georgia's public health division. "Grady has been at the table with us and we continue to work together. They may decide in the future they want to vaccinate and that will be fine."
Hospitals have expressed concern that the costs of vaccinating key workers may outweigh the benefits, said Toomey.
Those costs include not only the health risks associated with the vaccine, but also the cost of caring for workers that may have adverse reactions, said Toomey.
The smallpox vaccination, which uses a live virus very similar to the smallpox virus, can cause serious complications and even death.
It is estimated that for every one million patients vaccinated, as many as one to three will die because of complications, according to studies conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Up to 50 patients will suffer life-threatening reactions and up to 900 will experience adverse side effects, such as fever and rash.
I am so glad that the Grady management is taking a NIMBY approach to vaccination. [/sarcasm] What's to make these people think Atlanta is not on the list of potential targets for a smallpox attack? If I had such a weapon, it would be numero uno percisely because Atlanta is home of the Centers for Disease Control. Once the greater Atlanta metro area has been infected and eventually quarantined, the CDC's effective response to follow-up biological attacks will be greatly diminished.
jriemer
The same problem with airportst spreading disease would apply for any major metropolitan area. Airports spread flu and colds in the same manner as more dangerous contagions.
Grady's - Don't Worry, Be Happy - approach only means they will be treating their own medical staff for a smallpox outbreak along with all their other incoming patients.
Not having their select staff vaccinated ahead of time will put these hospital employees on the sideline when their most needed. A biological attack is an event where a hospital needs every living, uninfected person with medical knowledge working at top speed for countless hours.
I believe that this decision is very short sighted but predictable. I pray that it is not a fatal error of judgement.
jriemer
If you can come up with the "proper" innoculation, we could start a campaign to wipe out jihadism - jihadism (n), /ge - had - ism/, def.: a terrible degenerative cancer of the brain causing Islamic world terrorism - within a generation.
jriemer
Those costs include not only the health risks associated with the vaccine, but also the cost of caring for workers that may have adverse reactions, said Toomey.
Grady isn't the only hospital to opt out - mine is too. However, the public reason isn't money - it's because of concern of transmitting the virus to cancer patients, transplant patients, etc. A person who has been vaccinated can transmit the virus to other people while there is still a scab at the vaccination site. Whether or not I agree with the decision, I do know that the medical staff spent a lot of time trying to make what they view as the best decision with the best information they have.
Sounds like Grady is concerned more about financial implications than anything else.
This is purely speculation on my part but it may be that the company that manufactured the needle you remember went out of business after innoculations were stopped in the late 70's. So, that needle just may not be available anymore.
We had a conversation with a doctor friend recently about this very thing. He said that the scratch method (where they break the skin in numerous places & rub the vaccine in) is better for getting the immunization to "take." That may also be a factor if diluted vaccine is used.
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