August 2002 • Volume 8 • Number 8 |
After extensive information-gathering and deliberation, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on June 20 recommended limiting prophylactic smallpox vaccination to persons identified as initial responders in the event of a disease outbreak. ACIP also recommended that states be allowed to vaccinate staff at hospitals designated by state and local health authorities to treat smallpox victims.
The ACIP did not recommend mass vaccination. It reasoned that, in the absence of a known disease outbreak, the risks of universal vaccination outweighed the potential benefits.
Original estimates had placed the number of persons eligible for the limited vaccination scenario at about 15,000. But federal health officials now appear to be considering expanding that number to some 500,000 individuals. All vaccinations would be on a voluntary basis. Go to http://www.cdc.gov/nip/smallpox/supp_recs.htm for the full ACIP recommendation.
The committee's stance aligns with AAFP policy. In early June, the Academy recommended vaccination of "persons at the federal, state and local levels acting as smallpox response team members who would be called upon to investigate smallpox cases and contain outbreaks." Go to http://www.aafp.org/x10636.xml to read the AAFP statement.
Richard Clover, M.D., of Louisville, Ky., and Martin Mahoney, M.D., Ph.D., of Clarence, N.Y. -- both members of the Academy's Commission on Clinical Policies and Research -- serve as AAFP liaisons to the advisory committee.
The ACIP recommendation went to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson for his review in conjunction with CDC officials. Still ahead: developing an implementation plan and establishing an oversight panel to monitor the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Once the plan receives the final thumbs-up -- including sign-off from the White House -- vaccinations could begin early this fall.
FP Report is published by the
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Copyright © 2002 by
American Academy of Family Physicians.