Biopreparedness: Smallpox Vaccination Campaign of 2002-2003

 

Georgetown University

Life Sciences and Society Initiative

Smallpox Vaccination Adverse Effects Working Session

On March 3, 2003, a small invitational working session on the management of smallpox vaccination adverse effects will be held at Georgetown University under the auspices of University Provost Jim O’Donnell. The purpose of the session is to bring together key players from different sectors -- the federal government, state and local governments, the military, academia, the research community, health care and delivery, and the unions – to discuss openly and off the record the challenges of managing a smallpox event, mounting a successful smallpox vaccination campaign, and assessing and communicating risk and adverse effects associated with the smallpox vaccine. The session has the following goals: 1) to provide a forum at which all parties feel free to ask questions and to talk openly about the ‘knowns’ and the ‘unknowns’; 2) to clear up misunderstandings about the vaccine and the vaccination campaign; 3) to achieve a consensus on steps to take towards solving problems associated with adverse effects, and towards mapping effective strategies for coping with a smallpox event.

We believe that accomplishing these goals, with well-placed leaders cooperating across many of the most critical sectors, will greatly enhance our ability as a nation to cope with the challenges associated with the prospect of induced smallpox in the months and years ahead. This type of forum can go a long way toward ensuring that every unit of vaccination counts.

Advisors to the Georgetown Life Sciences and Society Initiative and I believe that you would make a valuable contribution to the working session. (For more information on Georgetown University’s Life Sciences and Society Initiative, please see Appendix B.) I hope very much that you will be able to join us on March 3. The session will be held from 9 AM to 2 PM on the main Georgetown University campus in the Murray Conference Room located on the 5th floor of the Lauinger Library. A light breakfast will be served at 8:30 AM and a working lunch will be held at noon. See Appendix C for a proposed Agenda for the session, which will include discussions by experts from the White House, the HHS Command Center, DOD, FDA, CDC, NIAID, NSF, Georgetown, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, and representatives from state and local government. Several short presentations will introduce topics, but the majority of the time will be spent in discussion. Our interim goal for the meeting will be to produce a report for circulation among key parties planning, implementing and evaluating the vaccination campaign. It is our hope that the Georgetown meeting will stimulate the development of initiatives that help address some of the key challenges facing the campaign. Due to the short time frame before the March 3 meeting and the limited space for participants, please respond to Michael McDonald at your earliest convenience via email regarding your availability to participate in the March 3 meeting. Also, please provide a time in which you can be contacted via phone over the next five working days. Approximately half of the session’s participant slots have been filled. Follow-up communication will be sent to confirmed participants by February 17. RSVPs and questions can be addressed to Michael McDonald (McDonald@GHI-inc.com /301-299-1507). Please see Attachment A below to review proposed participants.

Thank you for your good work in biodefense. We look forward to seeing you on March 3.

Sincerely,

Ambassador Cynthia Schneider