U.S. to Destroy Oldest Smallpox Vaccine

The United States has ordered destruction of its remaining supply of the world’s first smallpox vaccine, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Feb. 11).

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month slated a 12 million-dose stockpile of Dryvax for disposal and instructed other U.S. health agencies and military organizations to make plans to eliminate their stores of the vaccine.

It is a “historical moment, because it's our oldest vaccine,” said William Schaffner, chairman of Vanderbilt University’s preventive medicine department.  “It was a vaccine that eliminated smallpox from the United States.”

Dating back to the late 1800s, Dryvax was produced using virus samples from the skin of infected calves.  In recent years it has been linked to heart attacks and heart inflammation suffered by some recipients.  U.S. emergency stockpiles are replacing the vaccine with a newer, safer counterpart manufactured in laboratories.

In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks and subsequent anthrax mailings, authorities have argued that a smallpox vaccine remains necessary in the event of an act of bioterrorism.  Some military personnel have received vaccinations since 2002 and it has been recommended for certain health care professionals, AP reported.

The federal government hired Acambis Inc. to mass-produce its new smallpox treatment, called ACAM2000.  The company had manufactured close to 200 million doses of the vaccine by the end of 2003, said D.A. Henderson, a University of Pittsburgh vaccine expert who helped lead efforts to globally eradicate smallpox. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine’s license in September 2007 and the drug now makes up the bulk of the CDC smallpox vaccination stockpile, Henderson said (Mike Stobbe, Associated Press/MSNBC, March 1).

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