Smallpox:  White House Agrees to Back Limited Compensation Plan

In an effort to breath new life into its stalled smallpox immunization campaign, the Bush administration yesterday proposed a limited compensation plan for health workers and emergency personnel who are sickened by the vaccine (see GSN, Feb. 28).

“This removes the concern that a lot of people had, and we would expect that the numbers of people that would be vaccinated would increase,” said Jerome Hauer, acting assistant secretary of health and human services for public health preparedness.  “This would provide them the level of comfort they need in the very small likelihood of an adverse event,” he added.

Only 12,404 health workers nationwide have been immunized so far in the program that once anticipated vaccinating 500,000, the Washington Post reported today.

Modeled after an existing law enforcement compensation program, the smallpox plan would pay $262,100 to medical workers or their families if the individual is permanently disabled or killed by the vaccine.  The plan is also designed to pay lost wages to hospital workers who become sick, although those benefits would only kick in after five days of missed work and would be capped at $50,000.

“We appreciate they recognize it’s a problem, but there’s a long way to go from what we’re looking for,” said Chris Donnellan, associate director of government affairs for the American Nurses Association.  Donnellan took particular exception to the caps on compensation and the administration’s refusal to pay the first five days of lost wages, according to the Post.

Other union officials agreed that the proposal was a positive first step, but said it was not enough.

“President Bush refused to listen to patients, physicians, nurses and health workers when he launched the smallpox program,” said Rob McGarrah, coordinator for workers’ compensation at the AFL-CIO.  “Now, more than two months later, with the program in shambles, the administration has finally taken a step in the right direction,” he added (Ceci Connolly, Washington Post, March 6).

Local union officials supported some aspects of the plan, but said it should be federally funded and should not divert resources from other public health needs.

The provisions on lost wages and medical compensation are “totally inadequate.  It should be full compensation, and it should start immediately,” said Charles Idelson, spokesman for the California Nurses Association.

The plan must be approved and funded by Congress, the Los Angeles Times reported (Vicki Kemper, Los Angeles Times, March 6).

The compensation could cost $20 million to $30 million, according to an administration official.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) plans to sponsor the legislation.  Representative Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) has proposed a more liberal compensation plan in the House of Representatives.

Health officials renewed their call to medical workers last night.

“A smallpox release is possible and we therefore must prepare by offering vaccine to those most likely to respond,” Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said (Connolly, Washington Post).

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Anthrax:  Brentwood Postal Facility Successfully Decontaminated

The effort to decontaminate Washington’s Brentwood Road postal facility of anthrax, following the autumn 2001 anthrax attacks, appears to be a success, U.S. Postal Service officials said yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 18, 2002).

Thousands of air and surface samples taken from the facility all came back negative for anthrax spores, officials said.  While the results of the tests still need to be reviewed by an expert committee, the preliminary findings prompted postal officials to say the facility could be reopened to postal workers by summer, according to the Washington Post.

“We are very confident that we have a building that is anthrax-free,” said Thomas Day, Postal Service vice president for engineering.

The Environmental Clearance Committee, consisting of 15 academic, government and private-industry experts, is now reviewing the results of the air and surface samples, the Post reported.  Committee members plan to enter the Brentwood facility today without wearing protective equipment, and they are expected to confirm the successful decontamination in a report to be released in the next few days, officials said.

Some Brentwood employees, however, still have lingering fears (see GSN, Jan. 8).

“The majority of workers have anxieties about going back,” said Dena Briscoe, who worked as a clerk in the facility and is now president of Brentwood Exposed, a support group of former and current workers.  “That’s really our building, as workers.  We would love for that building to be ours again, but it’s going to take time to adjust,” she said (Manny Fernandez, Washington Post, March 5).

For further information, see:

CDC Frequently Asked Questions About Anthrax

FBI Amerithrax Investigation

Journal of the American Medical Association Background on Anthrax

GSN Anthrax Attack Chronology (Dec. 12, 2001)

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