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State Suspends Smallpox Vaccinations After Deaths
« on: Apr 1st, 2003, 8:01pm » |
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State Suspends Smallpox Vaccinations After Deaths
By GUY BOULTON [email protected]
Published: Mar 28, 2003
TAMPA - The deaths of two people, including a Pinellas County woman, have prompted Florida to temporarily stop its effort to vaccinate emergency health care workers against smallpox.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned this week that people with a history of heart disease should not be vaccinated. That means hospitals must rescreen those who have volunteered for the vaccination.
The nation launched a smallpox vaccination program for an estimated 500,000 health workers, paramedics and police officers to protect them from biological attack. An estimated 25,600, including about 3,200 people in Florida, have been vaccinated.
But the CDC is investigating reports of heart problems, including three heart attacks, in seven people given the vaccine.
Virginia Jorgensen, a nurse's aide who lived in Pinellas Park, died Wednesday after being removed from life-support Monday. She had a heart attack March 16, about two weeks after being vaccinated for smallpox.
Jorgensen, who worked at Northside Hospital and Heart Institute, began feeling ill and dizzy two days after being vaccinated, said her daughter, Joyce Schubert.
``I was very worried,'' Schubert, 32, said. ``But she just kept telling me that she was tired.''
Her mother, who never regained consciousness after her heart attack, thought that getting the vaccine went with working in health care, Schubert said.
Jorgensen died three days after a nurse in Maryland, also vaccinated, died of a heart attack.
The CDC has said it is not clear whether the number of heart attacks among those vaccinated is greater than would be expected in the general population.
Screening For Heart Disease
The Florida Department of Health stopped the vaccination program Wednesday morning after the CDC issued its warning.
When it resumes, health care workers will be asked whether they have a history of heart disease. The previous screening criteria barred people with certain medical conditions, such as skin diseases, HIV or pregnancy, from receiving the vaccine.
``It shouldn't set us back too much - days at most,'' said Rob Hayes, a health department spokesman. ``The reasons for the smallpox-vaccination campaign remain, therefore we must continue.''
Six hospitals in Hillsborough County are setting up programs to prepare for bioterrorism attacks. More than 200 health care workers in the county have been vaccinated.
The vaccination program is in its first phase, which includes volunteers at health departments and participating hospitals. The second phase will include emergency medical technicians, police officers, firefighters and others who might come in contact with someone who has been infected after a terrorist attack.
Cindy Hardy, who oversees the immunization program for the Hillsborough County Health Department, said she expects to get the new criteria as early as today.
``I don't see any reason why it would take more than a week to get back on track, not for my county,'' she said. ``They are trying to be careful. There's no reason not to be. We don't have to put people at risk at this point in time.''
An Ideal Bioterrorism Weapon
Hardy, who has been vaccinated, said people always must weigh the risk of a disease against the risk of a vaccine.
The United States stopped giving the smallpox vaccination in 1972, and the disease has been eradicated for more than two decades. The only known stocks of the virus are in laboratories in the United States and Russia.
But the virus, thought to have killed more people than any known disease, is considered an ideal weapon for a terrorist attack.
In the past, 14 to 52 people of every 1 million given the vaccine for the first time developed life-threatening reactions. The CDC estimates one or two people of every 1 million vaccinated may die from the vaccine.
More than 30 years ago, when the vaccination was in widespread use, it was given to children, who rarely have heart disease.
``This was an unexpected risk of the vaccine,'' said John Sinnott, a professor at the University of South Florida School of Medicine. ``It's unclear if it's connected.''
Still, reports of two deaths potentially linked to the vaccination are certain to increase wariness among emergency workers.
The Tampa Police Department has sent surveys to its patrol districts to gauge how many of officers will volunteer for the vaccination.
Katie Hughes, a spokeswoman, said police officers will feel an obligation to get the vaccination. But she added, ``There is concern. With the studies out there, there's reason for concern.''
Reporter Guy Boulton can be reached at (813) 259-6424
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