Aventis announced March 29,2002 that it will donate 85 million doses of 40-year-old smallpox vaccine to the Department of Health and Human services. After five months of "secret negotiations," the France-based vaccine manufacturer has decided to "donate" its stock to the U.S. government at no charge.

Current government policy calls for stockpiling doses of smallpox vaccine in case an outbreak occurs. If one case occurs anywhere in the U.S., public health officials will descend upon that community, isolating the patient and vaccinating "rings" of contacts around the infected person, beginning first with the people closest to the victim.

D.A. Henderson, a Baltimore physician who led the smallpox eradication effort and now runs the federal Office of Public Health Preparedness, said that because the vaccine is effective within four days of exposure and because the current threat of attack is low, the risks still outweigh the benefits and the current policy is reasonable. However, since a larger supply of vaccine has become available, the Bush administration is reevaluating that position.

Although Health and Social Services (HSS) and the CDC have known about the stockpile for months, Tommy Thompson, the head of HSS, says that the vaccine was kept secret until officials could determine whether it was "still good." He said, "There was no sense heightening expectations of the American people" if the vaccine did not pass muster. Apparently it has.

The Aventis vaccine is similar to the 15.4 million doses of smallpox vaccine known as Dryvax (made by Wyeth) that is already part of the government stockpile. Both vaccines were grown from the same seed stock and both were made using calf skins.

On Thursday, federal researchers announced that the Dryvax vaccine could safely be diluted fivefold. Yesterday (3-29-02), Thompson and Henderson predicted that the Aventis vaccine will be equally potent.

All indications are that the Aventis vaccine is safe and effective. Over the next 6-8 weeks, the National Institute of Health (NIH) will conduct clinical trials and then perform dilution tests. Aventis, which is still finalizing its agreement with the government, estimates that its vaccine is worth $150 million.

Washington Post March 30, 2002, pg. A02