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American Morning
House Call: Smallpox Vaccinations
Aired January 24, 2003 - 07:52 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Some folks in Connecticut will roll up their sleeves today. They will be the first health care workers in the country to receive smallpox vaccinations as part of the administration's anti-terror plan. But many people in the medical world aren't too sold on that idea.
Let's explain why. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is the guy to do that.
Good morning. How are you this morning?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula. I'm doing very well.
As you mentioned, Colorado (sic), the first state now. We've been talking about smallpox vaccines for quite some time. Connecticut, rather, being the first state, rather, that's going to actually administer the smallpox vaccine. Nebraska, Vermont, L.A. County also have the vaccine, and plan those vaccinations next week.
There has been, as you mentioned, Paula, a little bit of a quiet revolution going on against the president's plan to vaccinate 500,000 health care workers. Colorado's largest hospital chain, as well as Grady (ph) Memorial Hospital here in Atlanta (UNINTELLIGIBLE) also home of the CDC now refusing the vaccine. Health care workers, doctors and nurses actually citing the well-known risks of this vaccine, 40 out of a million people will develop life-threatening illnesses. One to two out of a million people will likely die from this vaccine. And these doctors, these nurses are being quite vocal in saying that these risks just don't seem to -- these risks do seem to outweigh the benefit of a potential smallpox attack.
So, that's the concern right now. There is not -- a lot of people are actually probably going to get this vaccine, but several hospitals, 80 or so now, that are saying they will not.
Another story out there, Paula, also an interesting one just in mice but pretty exciting. Scientists are one step closer to possibly allowing Americans, people all over the world really, to throw away diet books, eat whatever they want without -- get this -- getting fat, developing diabetes and possibly even living longer. That promise possibly coming in the form of a drug, a drug basically to allow fat cells not to process insulin as quickly, that insulin actually allowing fat to be stored in the body. So, if you don't have as much effective insulin, you don't store fat as well.
Human trials are way off, Paula. People are pretty excited about this in the interim -- Paula. ZAHN: Yes, in the meantime you've got some very happy mice, don't you?
GUPTA: The mice are happy, right. For us, we lay off the cheeseburgers and order salads in the interim.
ZAHN: Yes, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) our weight very slowly. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks.
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 January 24, 2003 - 07:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Some folks in Connecticut will roll up their sleeves today. They will be the first health care workers in the country to receive smallpox vaccinations as part of the administration's anti-terror plan. But many people in the medical world aren't too sold on that idea.
Let's explain why. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is the guy to do that.
Good morning. How are you this morning?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula. I'm doing very well.
As you mentioned, Colorado (sic), the first state now. We've been talking about smallpox vaccines for quite some time. Connecticut, rather, being the first state, rather, that's going to actually administer the smallpox vaccine. Nebraska, Vermont, L.A. County also have the vaccine, and plan those vaccinations next week.
There has been, as you mentioned, Paula, a little bit of a quiet revolution going on against the president's plan to vaccinate 500,000 health care workers. Colorado's largest hospital chain, as well as Grady (ph) Memorial Hospital here in Atlanta (UNINTELLIGIBLE) also home of the CDC now refusing the vaccine. Health care workers, doctors and nurses actually citing the well-known risks of this vaccine, 40 out of a million people will develop life-threatening illnesses. One to two out of a million people will likely die from this vaccine. And these doctors, these nurses are being quite vocal in saying that these risks just don't seem to -- these risks do seem to outweigh the benefit of a potential smallpox attack.
So, that's the concern right now. There is not -- a lot of people are actually probably going to get this vaccine, but several hospitals, 80 or so now, that are saying they will not.
Another story out there, Paula, also an interesting one just in mice but pretty exciting. Scientists are one step closer to possibly allowing Americans, people all over the world really, to throw away diet books, eat whatever they want without -- get this -- getting fat, developing diabetes and possibly even living longer. That promise possibly coming in the form of a drug, a drug basically to allow fat cells not to process insulin as quickly, that insulin actually allowing fat to be stored in the body. So, if you don't have as much effective insulin, you don't store fat as well.
Human trials are way off, Paula. People are pretty excited about this in the interim -- Paula. ZAHN: Yes, in the meantime you've got some very happy mice, don't you?
GUPTA: The mice are happy, right. For us, we lay off the cheeseburgers and order salads in the interim.
ZAHN: Yes, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) our weight very slowly. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
