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CNN Live At Daybreak

Smallpox Vaccinations: Dr. Gupta Explains

Aired December 13, 2002 - 06:36   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Today, after months of discussion, President Bush is expected to announce a plan to protect Americans against a possible bioterrorist attack. He is to direct some 500,000 members of the U.S. military to get the smallpox vaccine first. And after that, emergency health care providers would get a vaccine on a voluntary basis, followed by police, firefighters and other first responders.
And according to health officials, one or two people out of every million who get vaccinated will die from it.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in this morning to talk about the smallpox vaccination.

And we've been getting a lot of e-mails on the subject actually...

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... from people eager to get one.

GUPTA: Well, I'll tell you, and that's a point that we've been talking about for quite some time now, ever since this possible threat of smallpox. You read the numbers just now, Carol. It's a very controversial vaccine. This is a live vaccine that might potentially kill people, so no big surprise then that the government has gone so slow on trying to roll out this vaccine.

You read the numbers: 500,000 military, obvious reasons; 500,000 first responders and health care workers. These are the people that might actually take care of those first people that get smallpox if anyone ever gets smallpox, so obvious there as well.

As far as everybody else goes, though -- you and me and anybody else that wants the vaccine -- that gets a little bit more tricky. First of all, to get the vaccine, you'll probably have to be part of a clinical trial, and you'd have to sign an informed consent saying, I know I could die from this, I know I could be maimed from this, but I'm still going to go ahead and do it.

COSTELLO: And that's basically for liability reasons, too.

GUPTA: That's right. It's liability reasons, and the government wants to actually study this. Remember, this is a virus that hasn't been around in 22 years. We haven't seen a human case of it. It is eradicated. So, the fact that there's a glaring irony in all of this, the fact that we are actually vaccinating ourselves and maybe vaccinating a lot of people for a virus that really doesn't exist anymore.

COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about the vaccinations themselves, because they won't be available to the general population until the year 2004, probably. So, who should get and who should not get vaccinated?

GUPTA: That is the critical question, no question about that. Who should get it is probably what we're going to hear later on today from the president. Again, the military personnel are people who are most at risk. Health care workers are probably people who should get it. There are people who should not get it as well. People who have weakened immune systems, people who have HIV, been on chemotherapy, taking immunosuppressant drugs because of organ transplants.

Interestingly, people who have eczema. This is a very common diagnosis, about 10 percent of the population has eczema. What we're hearing is if you have eczema, if you've ever had it or if you live with someone who has it, you probably shouldn't get it either.

COSTELLO: If you live with someone who has it?

GUPTA: That's right, because if you live with someone who has it, you could potentially infect that person and possibly make them very sick.

COSTELLO: OK, gotcha.

GUPTA: And, Carol, your sort of surprise was my surprise when I first heard that. That's a lot of people. Pregnant women should not get this. Children under the age of 12 should not get this vaccine. We're talking about 60-70 million people who probably should not get this vaccine, about 20 percent of the population.

COSTELLO: I really want to put you on the spot, but I won't. You know, you wonder -- you know, I always wonder, would I get it?

GUPTA: Right.

COSTELLO: Would I agree to it? I don't know.

GUPTA: Well, feel free to put me on the spot, everyone else does.

COSTELLO: OK, would you get it, Dr. Gupta?

GUPTA: I don't think I would at this point. I don't think I'm at risk, necessarily. I do work in a hospital, as you know, but I'm not a quote/unquote "first responder." That is, I'm not the person that would actually go to a site of a smallpox attack. I probably wouldn't take care of these patients, because I'm a neurosurgeon, but there are a lot of doctors out there that probably would and are making those -- thinking about it more toughly than I am right now. I don't think I'd get it for the most part right now.

COSTELLO: "I don't think" -- that little word "think" in there has me concerned. Dr. Gupta, thanks for coming in... GUPTA: Thank you.

COSTELLO: ... and joining us on DAYBREAK this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired December 13, 2002 - 06:36   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Today, after months of discussion, President Bush is expected to announce a plan to protect Americans against a possible bioterrorist attack. He is to direct some 500,000 members of the U.S. military to get the smallpox vaccine first. And after that, emergency health care providers would get a vaccine on a voluntary basis, followed by police, firefighters and other first responders.
And according to health officials, one or two people out of every million who get vaccinated will die from it.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in this morning to talk about the smallpox vaccination.

And we've been getting a lot of e-mails on the subject actually...

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... from people eager to get one.

GUPTA: Well, I'll tell you, and that's a point that we've been talking about for quite some time now, ever since this possible threat of smallpox. You read the numbers just now, Carol. It's a very controversial vaccine. This is a live vaccine that might potentially kill people, so no big surprise then that the government has gone so slow on trying to roll out this vaccine.

You read the numbers: 500,000 military, obvious reasons; 500,000 first responders and health care workers. These are the people that might actually take care of those first people that get smallpox if anyone ever gets smallpox, so obvious there as well.

As far as everybody else goes, though -- you and me and anybody else that wants the vaccine -- that gets a little bit more tricky. First of all, to get the vaccine, you'll probably have to be part of a clinical trial, and you'd have to sign an informed consent saying, I know I could die from this, I know I could be maimed from this, but I'm still going to go ahead and do it.

COSTELLO: And that's basically for liability reasons, too.

GUPTA: That's right. It's liability reasons, and the government wants to actually study this. Remember, this is a virus that hasn't been around in 22 years. We haven't seen a human case of it. It is eradicated. So, the fact that there's a glaring irony in all of this, the fact that we are actually vaccinating ourselves and maybe vaccinating a lot of people for a virus that really doesn't exist anymore.

COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about the vaccinations themselves, because they won't be available to the general population until the year 2004, probably. So, who should get and who should not get vaccinated?

GUPTA: That is the critical question, no question about that. Who should get it is probably what we're going to hear later on today from the president. Again, the military personnel are people who are most at risk. Health care workers are probably people who should get it. There are people who should not get it as well. People who have weakened immune systems, people who have HIV, been on chemotherapy, taking immunosuppressant drugs because of organ transplants.

Interestingly, people who have eczema. This is a very common diagnosis, about 10 percent of the population has eczema. What we're hearing is if you have eczema, if you've ever had it or if you live with someone who has it, you probably shouldn't get it either.

COSTELLO: If you live with someone who has it?

GUPTA: That's right, because if you live with someone who has it, you could potentially infect that person and possibly make them very sick.

COSTELLO: OK, gotcha.

GUPTA: And, Carol, your sort of surprise was my surprise when I first heard that. That's a lot of people. Pregnant women should not get this. Children under the age of 12 should not get this vaccine. We're talking about 60-70 million people who probably should not get this vaccine, about 20 percent of the population.

COSTELLO: I really want to put you on the spot, but I won't. You know, you wonder -- you know, I always wonder, would I get it?

GUPTA: Right.

COSTELLO: Would I agree to it? I don't know.

GUPTA: Well, feel free to put me on the spot, everyone else does.

COSTELLO: OK, would you get it, Dr. Gupta?

GUPTA: I don't think I would at this point. I don't think I'm at risk, necessarily. I do work in a hospital, as you know, but I'm not a quote/unquote "first responder." That is, I'm not the person that would actually go to a site of a smallpox attack. I probably wouldn't take care of these patients, because I'm a neurosurgeon, but there are a lot of doctors out there that probably would and are making those -- thinking about it more toughly than I am right now. I don't think I'd get it for the most part right now.

COSTELLO: "I don't think" -- that little word "think" in there has me concerned. Dr. Gupta, thanks for coming in... GUPTA: Thank you.

COSTELLO: ... and joining us on DAYBREAK this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.