Last Updated

17 Dec 2002

Source: Associated Press, December 31, 2001.

Few Eligibles Take Anthrax Vaccine

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Fewer than 100 people of the thousands eligible to receive an experimental anthrax vaccine in wake of the bioterror attack have been inoculated, although federal health officials count more than 800 taking additional antibiotics.

Monday's count came as workers finished fumigating a Senate building to kill trace amounts of anthrax spores still lingering there. However, continued testing could turn up more anthrax residue in any of the numerous buildings and post offices contaminated during the attacks-by-mail, said the nation's top anthrax official.

"I don't think anyone can say there are not odd spores sitting around somewhere,'' Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview. "I don't think they pose a health threat to people, but individuals have to make their own decisions in this as to what's tolerable to them or not.''

Koplan's comments came as CDC figures show few of the thousands exposed to anthrax in the fall attacks are taking up a government offer of free but experimental anthrax vaccinations or an additional 40 days of antibiotics. CDC made the offer because animal studies suggest that in rare cases, anthrax can lurk in the body for more than 60 days, erupting after people finish their original course of antibiotics.

Four dozen Capitol Hill workers received the first vaccinations on Dec. 20. Since then, another 39 people, mostly postal workers, in Washington, New York, New Jersey and Florida have been vaccinated, CDC figures showed Monday morning. U.S. Postal Service officials added another 10 inoculations to that count by afternoon.

Vaccination requires three shots at two-week intervals; antibiotics must be taken until the last shot.

In addition to vaccine recipients, CDC counted another 846 people who opted for 40 additional days of antibiotics.

People have until Jan. 7 to decide whether to take either extra-protection measure. Koplan, who helped counsel New Yorkers about the extra therapy last week, said he expects few more takers.

"It depends on your own sense of risk aversion,'' he said. "These are intelligent people who now know a lot about the subject'' and thus can choose.

The inoculations are experimental because, while the vaccine has been used safely for decades to prevent infection before anthrax exposure, there's no proof it works as a post-exposure treatment. It can cause side effects including injection site soreness and swelling; muscle and joint aches; rashes; chills; fever; nausea; and rare but serious allergic reactions.

The CDC confirmed 18 anthrax cases during the fall attacks-by-mail, including five deaths. The buildings most contaminated - and still closed - were the Hart Senate Office Building, where an anthrax-logged letter was opened, and two postal facilities in Washington and Trenton, N.J., that processed anthrax-tainted letters.

Workers on Monday finished fumigating the Hart building with a gas that can kill anthrax, but say it could take at least a week to determine if the cleanup worked. Test strips containing bacteria more resistant to chlorine dioxide than anthrax were placed in the building. If that bacteria is dead, it suggests any remaining anthrax is, too.

Officials hope to reopen the building, which normally houses offices of half the Senate's 100 members, in early January. The two closed post offices won't be cleaned up until Hart is finished, a spokeswoman said.