Thompson Addresses U.S. Bioterrorism Vulnerability on ’60 Minutes’

Addressing the "possibility" of a biological or chemical attack on the United States, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said on CBS' "60 Minutes" Sept. 30 that "we are safer than we'd been led to believe." Thompson said that the federal government has eight sites nationwide that contain packages stocked with 50 tons of medical supplies, including vaccines, antibiotics, gas masks and ventilators, that officials can move to the site of a bioterrorism attack "within hours." He also said that the National Disaster Medical Service has 7,000 medical professionals nationwide "ready to go" in the event of a biological attack. "We've got to make sure that people understand that they're safe. And that we're prepared to take care of any contingency, any consequence that develops from any kind of bioterrorism attack," Thompson said, adding, "I don't think the American people should be scared into believing that they have to have a gas mask."

Stockpile Shortage?
According to Thompson, the United States has 15.4 million doses of smallpox vaccines prepared to deliver in the event of a bioterrorism attack ("60 Minutes" transcript, CBS, 9/30). Public health experts estimate, however, that the United States must have about 40 million doses to "combat a serious epidemic" (Stolberg, New York Times, 9/30). Still, Thompson said Sept. 28 at a Georgetown University forum, "We have an adequate supply right now. It doesn't mean we could not use more," (Josh Kotzman, American Health Line, 10/1). He said that Acambis Inc., the Cambridge, Mass., unit of British biotechnology company Acambis PLC, would supply the federal government with an additional 40 million doses next year. Thompson added that the government would use antibiotics to treat Americans in the event of an anthrax attack and has "no plans" to distribute the vaccine, manufactured for the U.S. military by BioPort Corp., to civilians. He said that the government has an antibiotic supply to treat two million Americans for 60 days (McGinley, Wall Street Journal, 10/1). However, public health experts have said that the nation has fallen "tens of millions of vaccine doses short" to defend against a biological attack, and the General Accounting Office has reported that the government has included a number of expired drugs in the national stockpile (American Health Line, 9/24).

Shays Has Doubts
Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) said on "60 Minutes," "Right now, we don't have the ability to respond to a massive number of patients" ("60 Minutes" transcript, CBS, 9/30). The New York Times reports that according to a "broad range" of public health experts, the United States "is inadequately prepared to confront" bioterrorist attacks. They said that the United States must develop new vaccines and treatments and "fortify its fragile public health" system, which lacks the "infrastructure and preparedness that could thwart" a biological attack. In addition, the Times reports that "holes in the federal bureaucracy" -- including the lack of an FDA commissioner and an NIH director -- may leave the nation more vulnerable to biological attack (New York Times, 9/30). White House Chief of Staff Andy Card said on "Fox News Sunday" that the Bush administration would "work hard to make sure" that the United States has an adequate supply of vaccines and antibiotics amid concerns that levels have fallen "dangerously low" (Bazinet, New York Daily News, 10/1).