National Journal Looks at Whether Federal and State Governments Have Quarantine Powers To Respond to Bioterrorism
National Journal highlights the ongoing debate over whether federal and state governments should have the power to quarantine people or force them to receive a vaccination in the event of a smallpox attack. The federal government will have to decide whether to administer smallpox vaccine in advance of an attack and whether to force Americans to take the vaccine in the event of a smallpox outbreak. Some Americans do not want the vaccine, which has a number of potential "serious side effects," National Journal reports. According to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, the government will not offer smallpox vaccine "unless there's an outbreak."
Quarantine, Privacy Issues
Meanwhile, many states will likely consider model legislation, commissioned by the CDC, that would grant states "special powers" to impose a quarantine in a public health emergency. Some states have laws that allow them to impose a quarantine in the event of an outbreak, but according to
Center for Law and the Public's Health Director Lawrence Gostin, who helped draft the model legislation, "they're antiquated and there are no standards for when quarantines should be put forward." However, Sandro Cinti, an infectious disease physician at the University of Michigan medical center, said that the model legislation would "raise many civil rights questions" and questions about whether a quarantine would expose healthy individuals to disease. Gostin said that the authors of the legislation addressed civil rights concerns. According to the legislation, "It is the policy of the state that the individual dignity of any person isolated or quarantined during a state of public health emergency shall be respected at all times." In addition, the legislation "seeks to ensure that quarantine facilities are safe and hygienic" and "designed to minimize the likelihood of further transmission of infection." National Journal reports that privacy also has emerged as a concern. The model legislation "suggests a need" to place public health over privacy issues in the event of a bioterrorist attack. It would require pharmacists to report increased prescription rates or "unusual trends" in pharmacy visits, which would include a patient's name, date of birth, sex, race and address. "Privacy laws thwart data-sharing" between states, the federal government, law enforcement, emergency teams and the private sector, Gostin said (National Journal, 11/17). For comprehensive public health information from the CDC on bioterrorism issues please visit http://www.bt.cdc.gov
