Georgia health division announces limited, voluntary vaccination plan

Posted 8:20AM on Wednesday 4th December 2002 ( 22 years ago )

ATLANTA - The Georgia Division of Public Health wants to vaccinate about 500 health care workers for smallpox to minimize possible side effects of the vaccine. Georgia's plan - to be submitted Monday to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta - calls for the vaccination of up to 15 volunteer doctors and nurses per institution. The White House as early as this week could announce federal recommendations on how the vaccine should be administered to Americans as a precaution against a bioterrorism attack. Under the Georgia plan, only emergency and intensive-care workers, as well as those monitor the spread of infection within institutions, would be eligible to volunteer for the vaccine. Concerns about possible severe side effects has limited the scope of the plan, said Dr. Kathleen Toomey, director of the Division of Public Health. ``This will give us on-the-ground experience that will allow us to offer the vaccine more broadly to the public health and medical community if necessary,'' Toomey said, ``but this approach, we feel, ensures success with maximum safety.'' The state plan probably won't begin until after the holidays and will have several phases. First, volunteers around the metro-Atlanta area will be vaccinated. The volunteers would come from investigative teams at the state health division, in five health districts covering Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale counties. Also included are volunteers at several area hospitals. Then, the vaccine will be offered to staff in the remaining 14 health districts and at eight other hospitals around the state. The CDC will release enough vaccine for Georgia if it approves the state's plan. The CDC has estimated that more than 20 percent of Americans are not eligible for vaccination because they have an impaired immune system from a variety of conditions. Those include leukemia, long-term drug therapy, transplants or AIDS, pregnancy, and skin disorders such as eczema or atopic dermatitis. Also, those who live with someone with one of those conditions would be ineligible. The division will likely add additional conditions to those considered ineligible, Toomey said. Some health experts expect volunteerism to be low due to concern about side effects when the risk of an actual outbreak is uncertain. ``Based on my understanding of the risks to my medical staff, their families and our patients - particularly those who (have suppressed immune systems) - I do not expect that many, or perhaps any, of my department's faculty or resident physicians will opt for vaccination,'' said Dr. Arthur Kellermann, chief of emergency medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and its hospitals. Further complicating the matter is a lack of certainty about who will pay for the aftermath of side effects - from lost work hours to medical treatment to legal liability. ``Liability has come up again and again, both from hospitals and public health staff and from other state health officials: If there is an adverse reaction, will our staff be held responsible?'' Toomey said. ``We are waiting for federal guidance.'' Earlier this year, federal officials said liability provisions would be included when the White House announced its decision.

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