CDC to give anthrax vaccine to 'high risk' workers

By Elizabeth Cohen and Major Garrett
CNN Washington Bureau

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told CNN Friday it will administer the anthrax vaccine to "high risk" laboratory workers and decontamination specialists and may later expand the program to some postal workers.

EXTRA INFORMATION 10 things you need to know about anthrax

Dr. David Fleming, deputy director of science and public health for the CDC, said the agency decided to vaccinate those involved in the anthrax investigation because they were under "constant exposure" to the anthrax bacteria.

It would not be advisable to treat these people with antibiotics indefinitely, said Fleming. He said there are about 1,000 people taking the anthrax-fighting drug Cipro in Florida, as many as 7,000 in New York, and the remainder in Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas.

Fleming's reference to possibly adding postal workers to a vaccination regimen was "mostly theoretical," said Lisa Swenarski, a CDC spokeswoman. A CDC committee is determining whether postal employees or others should be added to the new vaccination program, she said.

A decision on which workers, if any, will be added to the vaccination program is to be announced within two weeks, Swenarski said. "Nothing has been taken off the table; everyone is just keeping their minds open," she said.

Increasing vaccine production

No one will be able to receive the anthrax vaccine for "at least two weeks," Swenarski said. The vaccine must first be obtained from the manufacturer, passed to the Department of Defense, given to the CDC and finally transferred to the companies that employ the workers chosen for vaccination, she said.

The Pentagon owns all available anthrax vaccines, but the amount is limited. It is not available to the general civilian population unless negotiated through government health officials.

The Pentagon has agreed to provide the necessary quantities for the high risk workers, Fleming said.

BioPort Corp. of Lansing, Michigan, is the only U.S. manufacturer of the anthrax vaccine. It recently began boosting production to meet a projected 1 million doses a year from now. The corporation originally planned to produce 15,000 doses in a year. The company is awaiting FDA approval before it can begin shipping the vaccine.

The current supply of vaccine equals "about 10,000 doses," Swenarski said.

Since March 1998, the U.S. military has administrated 2.1 million doses of the vaccine to 521,000 people, said Army Lt. Col. John Grabenstein, deputy director of the Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program Agency. A full vaccination requires six doses administered over 18 months. Eventually, the Pentagon expects to vaccinate 2.3 million service members, Grabenstein said. He said officials are currently vaccinating "designated special mission units at the very highest risk."