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BY CINDY McCANSE
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Underwhelming -- that describes the response so far to the federal government's call for emergency response team members to be vaccinated for smallpox. Fewer than 17,000 of the roughly half a million targeted for the vaccine had actually been vaccinated as of March 7.
In response to this lackluster showing, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced on March 6 that states would be allowed to begin the second phase of the national smallpox vaccination program, in which as many as 10 million emergency and health care workers would be vaccinated. CDC staff and Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers will also begin receiving smallpox vaccinations, he said.
Thompson reiterated that news during a March 7 telebriefing -- and then took it one step further. Together with CDC Director Julie Gerberding, M.D., he asked clinician leaders to support the smallpox vaccination plan and to assist other clinicians in "making informed decisions about their willingness to volunteer" to be vaccinated.
A major sticking point in getting the federal smallpox vaccination program off the ground has been guaranteeing adequate compensation for those injured by the vaccine or by contact with vaccinees. At press time, two compensation packages -- one proposed by the Bush administration and the other by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. -- had been introduced in Congress, with more scheduled to follow. Although lawmakers in both houses have pledged to move quickly on compensation legislation, the time frame for passage is anything but certain. Meanwhile, physicians remain wary about rolling up their sleeves.
"We recognize that this is unprecedented, and it represents an unusual situation for health care organizations," said Thompson. But he assured briefing participants that HHS plans to pull out all the stops on the issue, adding that he was to meet that day with White House officials for a strategy-planning session on the Bush proposal. "All I can tell you is we're putting a full-court press on it and hope to move it through Congress as quickly as possible," Thompson said.
New terrorism preparedness resources available from AAFP
You need look no further than the Academy’s Web site for up-to-the-minute terrorism preparedness information. Go to http://www.aafp.org/btresponse.xml to access the latest AAFP resources developed to help FPs serve as sentinel family physicians against bioterrorism and other public health threats.
At AAFP’s “btresponse” site, you can download the CDC’s Smallpox Vaccination Pocket Guide to answer those lingering how-to or what-for questions you may have about the smallpox vaccine and its effects.
And for your patients with questions about the smallpox vaccine and the federal vaccination plan, AAFP’s award-winning patient education Web site — familydoctor.org — has a new downloadable handout at http://familydoctor.org/handouts/740.html. The handout describes the vaccine, explains who should and who should not receive it, and lists other online resources patients can consult for more information.
Also new at the Academy’s terrorism Web site is a PDF version of a flyer ready for downloading and posting in your office, urging patients to talk with you about any terrorism concerns they may have (information about accessing and reading PDF files is at http://www.aafp.org/pdf.xml).
And you can now link directly to the following sites from the AAFP “btresponse” site:
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security Web site. This site offers detailed information on how to prepare for terrorist attacks, such as instructions for assembling a supply kit and issues to consider when developing a family communications plan.
• American Red Cross Web site. This site provides resources in both English and Spanish on what the Homeland Security Department’s five threat conditions for possible terrorist attack mean. The information provided by the Red Cross is tailored for individuals, families, neighborhoods, schools and businesses.
The CDC on March 3 began mailing information packets on smallpox and the smallpox vaccine to 3.5 million clinicians nationwide. A press release on the CDC mailing is at http://www.aafp.org/x19907.xml.
“Ensuring clinicians have accurate information about smallpox is critical as we continue to work to enhance our nation’s preparedness for a possible terrorism attack,” said CDC Director Julie Gerberding, M.D. “This mailing is unprecedented, and the information in these packets is a valuable resource to those health care providers on the front lines who would be the first ones to recognize smallpox cases.”
The packet contains:
Also included in the packet is an invitation to join a CDC-sponsored online registry enabling you to receive regular e-mail updates on terrorism preparedness and training opportunities. You don’t have to wait for the packet to arrive to sign up; go to http://www.bt.cdc.gov/clinregistry/ to find out how to begin receiving updates right away.
To reach writer Cindy McCanse, e-mail cmccanse@aafp.org.
FP Report is published by the
AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2003 by
American Academy of Family Physicians.
