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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 28, 2003 CONTACT:
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American Nurses Association Hails Temporary Exclusion Of Health Care Workers With Heart Ailments From Receiving Smallpox Vaccine
'Strong need' for legislation backing adequate education, pre-screening and surveillance reiterated
Washington, DC --Calling it a "prudent and appropriate action," the American Nurses Association (ANA) today commended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for temporarily deferring nurses and other health care workers who have heart problems from being immunized with the smallpox vaccine. The CDC issued the deferment after a nurse in Maryland who had received the vaccine died of a heart attack and six others fell ill after being inoculated. Since then, another inoculated health-care worker - a 57-year-old Florida woman - has died of heart complications.
"We agree that all nurses and other health care workers who have evidence of heart disease should not receive the vaccine until any possible connection between smallpox vaccinations and cardiac cases has been ruled out by the CDC," said ANA President Barbara A. Blakeney, MS, APRN,BC, ANP.
Blakeney also noted that this latest potential vaccine complication "further underscores the need for robust education, appropriate prescreening measures and adequate surveillance regarding the vaccination process."
As further evidence, Blakeney pointed to an Institute of Medicine report, released yesterday, which calls for the continued evaluation of the progress of the campaign with a focus on protecting the safety of the vaccine recipients, particularly as the campaign expands to a larger pool of potential recipients before completion of its initial phase.
In early January, Reps. Capps and Whitfield sent a "Dear Colleague" to members of the House of Representatives inviting them to join the new caucus. In addition, Blakeney has urged ANA members to contact their elected representatives to encourage them to join the caucus. To date, the caucus has 56 members.
The first phase of the administration's three-pronged plan to vaccinate 500,000 health-care workers began on Jan. 24, despite repeated calls from ANA to delay the process until key health and compensation concerns were adequately addressed. Registered nurses are part of the first phase as well as the second phase of the plan, which involves inoculating 10 million first responders. The program was revised March 6 to allow expanded vaccinations of a wider group of health-care workers and emergency-response personnel before the first phase was completed.
On Mar. 25, ANA sent letters to members of the U.S. House of Representatives asking them to support legislation that would include provisions for the essential education, prescreening and surveillance systems needed to guarantee the safe administration of the vaccine. ANA remains concerned about current House Republican-sponsored legislation under consideration because it lacks such assurances.
As Blakeney noted, members of the U.S. armed services have "rightly received personalized education, and free and confidential prescreening prior to the administration of the vaccine. This process properly screened out one-third of the potential recipients. But the administration has yet to ensure that nurses and other health care workers will receive similar support.
"America's nurses have a proud history of responding selflessly in times of crisis," said Blakeney. "And we strongly agree that the nation should be adequately prepared against the possibility of a bioterrorist attack. However, because this live vaccine poses substantial health risks for both nurses and their patients, we do not believe the administration should be rushing health care workers through the phases of this plan without adequately investigating and addressing these valid health concerns.
"The men and women on the frontlines of our nation's bioterrorism preparedness campaign deserve the same protections as our men and women serving in the armed forces," Blakeney added. "The battlefield may be different, but the call to service is the same."
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ANA is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.7 million Registered Nurses through its 54 constituent associations. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
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