Ready for biowarfare?

• Author: Hannesschlager, Jennifer R.
• Position: LETTERS - Letter to the editor

In regard to the article titled "Virulent Outlook" in the May 2007 edition of National Defense, a number of points need to be clarified. The article states that the government is "shortsighted" for stockpiling a pandemic vaccine because, "If we get [the vaccine] wrong by one effective DNA sequence, it's useless."

Although a pre-pandemic vaccine would be, by definition, one that would not be a perfect match to the actual pandemic viral strain, epidemiological modeling clearly demonstrates that even a mismatched vaccine with low efficacy will have a significant effect on transmission dynamics in the United States. Dr. Neil Ferguson and colleagues demonstrated that a pre-pandemic vaccine which conferred only a 30 percent reduction in susceptibility, delivered to only 20 percent of the population could still reduce the number of daily cases by 80 percent, depending on vaccination strategy, and conditions surrounding the introduction of the virus into the United States. Clearly, even an imperfect vaccine would be anything but ineffective.

The National Defense article also suggests that the only way a vaccine can be delivered is by standing in line among people who may already be infected, leading to increased transmission of the virus. While this is the traditional vision of flu shot administration, $128 million has been granted to the Iomai...