ANA CALLS CONGRESSIONAL AGREEMENT ON SMALLPOX VACCINATION A POSITIVE STEP

Yet proposed legislation still lacks 'full assurances' on adequate pre-screening, education, surveillance and compensation

Washington, DC -- The American Nurses Association (ANA) today called a final smallpox compensation agreement between the White House and key congressional leaders "a positive step" in protecting health care providers who might be harmed by the voluntary vaccine. But the association's enthusiasm for the agreement was tempered by concerns that the compromise legislation fails to mandate adequate education, pre-screening and surveillance, and fuller protections in the event of adverse reactions. Congress is expected to pass the measure before recessing today.

"We are pleased that the agreement has been reached," said ANA President Barbara A. Blakeney, MS, APRN,BC, ANP, "especially because it offers protections that were absent from the Bush administration's plan unveiled last November. We also would like to thank Representatives Lois Capps, Henry Waxman, John Dingell and Sherrod Brown, as well as Senator Barbara Mikulski, for their hard work, which made these latest advances possible. But we are disappointed that the final congressional package still does not offer fuller assurances on many of the health and safety concerns we have repeatedly outlined."

On Mar. 25, ANA sent letters to members of the U.S. House of Representatives asking them to support legislation proposed by Reps. Capps (D-CA) and Waxman (D-CA) that would include provisions for the essential education, prescreening and surveillance systems needed to guarantee the safe administration of the vaccine. ANA also supported a Senate amendment offered by Sen. Mikulski (D-MD) that proposed the same benefits as the House version. After intense lobbying by ANA, members of the House subsequently defeated proposed legislation that did not include these proposals.

Offering an example of why this issue matters, Blakeney noted that 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 Congress' final legislative package still does not ensure that nurses and other health care workers will receive similar support."

In addition, Blakeney noted that if a nurse were permanently disabled by the vaccine, wage replacements would end at age 65, leaving only Medicare and Social Security payments to rely on throughout retirement. "And what amount of Social Security might a disabled nurse, who potentially has not been paying into the system for many years, be receiving?" she asked.

Finally, citing "an issue of fairness," Blakeney noted that, unlike the provision for police, firefighters and other first responders, the $262,100 death benefit for health care workers is reduced by any amount paid for lost wages prior to death. "Nurses, who are potentially putting their lives on the line by volunteering for this vaccine, should be receiving the same compensation as other vital first responders," she noted.

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.

"America's nurses have always been there for their patients, especially in times of crisis," said Blakeney. "And ANA strongly agrees that the nation should be adequately prepared against the possibility of a bioterrorist attack. However, we also believe that nurses - like members of the armed services and our nation's police, fire and other first-responders - deserve the strongest protections possible under the law."

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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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