SEIU Local 1199WI

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Letter from SEIU International President Andrew L. Stern to President George W. Bush Calling for the Delay of the Smallpox Vaccination Program

January 16, 2003

The Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Re: The Smallpox Vaccination of Health Care Workers

Dear President Bush:

On behalf of our nation’s patients, health care workers, and their families, I ask that you act immediately to delay the smallpox vaccination of civilians until the concerns raised by medical experts, public health officials, and health care workers have been addressed.

Today’s New York Times reported that “the government’s plan for smallpox vaccinations is too rushed and lacks adequate safeguards,” according to a leaked report by an Institute of Medicine panel convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the largest union of health care workers in the United States, the nurses, doctors, paramedics, and other members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are very concerned that you have not done enough to protect caregivers, their families, or their patients from the risks of the smallpox vaccine.

Experts say approximately 1 in 3 people vaccinated will feel too sick to work and provide proper patient care for one or more days. As many as 1,000 of every million people vaccinated could become seriously ill and a few may die.

When I met with your staff last month, I was told that your administration would work together with the Republican leadership in Congress to address the serious gaps in your smallpox plan. That has not happened.

Yesterday’s Washington Post reported that “the Bush administration has rejected appeals to create a compensation fund for patients who suffer complications from the vaccine's well-known side effects.”

Top officials in your administration, including Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, have suggested worker’s compensation as a solution. But many states say their worker’s compensation program will not cover adverse effects of the smallpox vaccine, and in most of the states that do provide workers’ compensation coverage, the benefits are inadequate.

Your administration and Congress have protected the drug companies who produce the vaccine and the hospitals who administer it from any liability. The men and women who volunteer to help our country prepare for a smallpox outbreak – as well as their patients and families – should receive the same protection.

Finally, it appears that health care workers will not benefit from an early lesson from the vaccinations of our U.S. military: thorough screening can help prevent adverse effects. Under the Department of Defense smallpox vaccination plan, pregnancy and HIV tests are provided free of charge to individuals who think they might be in one of those groups at higher risk if they receive the vaccine. Most health care workers will not receive the same level of screening.

Health care workers across the country want to be prepared if a smallpox outbreak occurs. But it is wrong to ask them, their patients, and their families to put their health at risk while you have been unwilling to make the plan as safe as possible and your administration and Congress have failed to make sure anyone injured by the vaccine will be cared for physically and financially. This is not a responsible way to deal with the concerns of health care workers, patients, and the public.

Sincerely,

Andrew L. Stern
International President

cc: Honorable Tommy G. Thompson

Dr. Julie Gerberding (Director, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Mr. Jerome Hauer (Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Health Emergency Preparedness, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)