Capitol Hill workers get anthrax vaccine

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Dozens of Capitol Hill workers have begun receiving an anthrax vaccine, authorities said Thursday, even as federal health officials acknowledged they were providing no clear direction on who should seek what is basically an experimental treatment.

Tuesday, the government announced it was making the vaccine available for those people who felt they were still at risk for developing the disease. Federal health experts, however, did not make a recommendation on whether people should take the vaccine. They also offered an extended, 40-day treatment of antibiotics and said individuals could simply decide to monitor their own health without taking any further treatment.

"We fully understand that it's frustrating ...that the government can't make a strong recommendation," said Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But he said there was "inadequate science" on which to base a recommendation.

Koplan said during a conference call with reporters Thursday that about 40 people had received the vaccine this morning on Capitol Hill. A total of roughly 75 staffers are thought to be most at risk because a contaminated letter was opened in the office of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

So far, no postal workers -- at risk because the Daschle letters and others passed through postal facilities -- have asked to received the vaccine, Koplan said.

Potentially, thousands of postal employees and Capitol Hill workers could request the vaccine, although authorities have said they have no way of knowing who will seek it.

Local health officials in the District of Columbia recommended against taking the vaccine, but said individuals who were exposed to anthrax should continue to take the original 60-day course of antibiotics and monitor their health.

Koplan said three groups of people should "seriously consider" further treatment: those who came into contact with any of the tainted letters; those who worked in an area where a colleague was diagnosed with inhalation anthrax and those who were found to be an environment that was "heavily" contaminated with anthrax spores.

Those who want the vaccine have to sign a consent form, which relieves the manufacturer of any liability.

The vaccine has never been used in this fashion -- after exposure -- so health officials said they have no way of knowing whether it prevents development of disease.

Koplan referred to it as a "theoretical benefit."