Posted on 09/26/2002 1:48:35 PM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
The federal government's plan to withhold the smallpox vaccine until after an outbreak is woefully inadequate and would most likely lead to chaos and thousands of preventable deaths, according to a prominent organization of physicians.
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons has released a five-prong defense plan calling for voluntary advance immunizations. The organization urges local officials to develop an aggressive strategy to stockpile medical supplies, monitor public places and refine reporting and deployment systems.
"The CDC must be in deep denial,” said Jane M. Orient, M.D., executive director of AAPS as well as Doctors for Disaster Preparedness.
"They may have elaborate paper plans to provide for parking and bathroom facilities at mass immunization sites. But these plans will be too little, too late, even if they don’t collapse completely in a crisis. Thousands will die.”
The organization advises five immediate steps:
Make immunizations available, with full disclosure and informed consent, to those who want them. Medical workers, frequent travelers, or people who work in crowded areas or high-rise buildings are among those at risk of early exposure.
Install high-tech devices, such as electronic noses, in public places such as airports and subways to detect signs of immune system activation in people who are exposed but not yet sick. Allocate $20 million for development and clinical trials of promising anti-viral agents.
Stockpile anti-virals now being used to treat AIDS complications and approve emergency off-label use in the event of a smallpox outbreak.
Disperse vaccines, drugs, supplies and laboratory equipment to local authorities. Total reliance on a centralized system could be disastrous. The CDC says the vaccine is too dangerous for the general public. "This is a red herring. Children are routinely required to take vaccines against diseases much less serious than smallpox despite comparable side effects,” said Dr. Orient.
She calls the government "two-faced” about vaccine reactions. With voluntary vaccines before a crisis, it is much easier to screen out those who are at high risk of complications and get them to people who are more likely to be exposed, she says.
Also, people who have been inoculated should have as little contact as possible with those especially vulnerable to infection, she says. That would be impossible during a crisis.
"The CDC plan is overly optimistic. Their ‘ring immunization’ plan is outdated in an age of bioterrorism,” said Dr. Orient.
In the days when "ring immunization” was effectively used, an outbreak consisted of a few cases in a population that already had a high degree of immunity. Now every American is susceptible.
AAPS has been outspoken in opposing mandatory vaccines. "We don’t make these recommendations lightly,” Dr. Orient said. "Voluntarily screen and vaccinate now, or answer for countless preventable deaths later.”
At 24 MIRVed Tridents per boat, it wouldn't even take 1/3rd of the fleet to erase Islam from the face of the Earth in an hour.
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