生产天花疫苗的计划仍继续(上)
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;WASHINGTON, Nov 02 (Reuters Health) - American vaccine makers are "up to the effort" of manufacturing 300 million doses of smallpox vaccine by the middle of next year, an industry representative told lawmakers on Friday.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;But others are warning Congress to focus on shoring up the abilities of local health departments to respond to a serious bioterror attack.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;The Department of Health and Human Services has pared down its list of potential contractors from 10 to 4, and those companies are currently in negotiations to begin ramping up vaccine production, said Dr. Michael Friedman, chief medical officer for biomedical preparedness at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an industry trade group.
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"This is an extraordinary effort. We are up to this effort," he told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;Moves to rapidly increase America's stores of smallpox vaccine are working on two main fronts--one in drug company labs making new vaccine and another in trials to see if existing stocks can be diluted while remaining effective.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;The Bush administration has requested $509 million for procuring smallpox vaccine, though Congress has not yet acted on the proposal.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;The US currently has 15.4 million doses of smallpox vaccine in stock. None has been manufactured over the last two decades.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;Friedman said that Americans could expect 300 million vaccine doses--enough for everyone in the US--by "the middle third quarter" of the 2002 calendar year.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;But that schedule was not fast enough for Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), who told companies and federal officials to "go back to the drawing board" to try to speed up vaccine production. "The question is how fast can it be done...if money is not object," said Specter, the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations health subcommittee.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;Public health officials argued that vaccine production is already working at capacity.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;"I think we have pushed this system absolutely as much as we can," said Dr. James W. LeDuc, the head of the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia., 百拇医药
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;But others are warning Congress to focus on shoring up the abilities of local health departments to respond to a serious bioterror attack.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;The Department of Health and Human Services has pared down its list of potential contractors from 10 to 4, and those companies are currently in negotiations to begin ramping up vaccine production, said Dr. Michael Friedman, chief medical officer for biomedical preparedness at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an industry trade group.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;
"This is an extraordinary effort. We are up to this effort," he told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;Moves to rapidly increase America's stores of smallpox vaccine are working on two main fronts--one in drug company labs making new vaccine and another in trials to see if existing stocks can be diluted while remaining effective.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;The Bush administration has requested $509 million for procuring smallpox vaccine, though Congress has not yet acted on the proposal.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;The US currently has 15.4 million doses of smallpox vaccine in stock. None has been manufactured over the last two decades.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;Friedman said that Americans could expect 300 million vaccine doses--enough for everyone in the US--by "the middle third quarter" of the 2002 calendar year.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;But that schedule was not fast enough for Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), who told companies and federal officials to "go back to the drawing board" to try to speed up vaccine production. "The question is how fast can it be done...if money is not object," said Specter, the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations health subcommittee.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;Public health officials argued that vaccine production is already working at capacity.
&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;&nbps;"I think we have pushed this system absolutely as much as we can," said Dr. James W. LeDuc, the head of the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia., 百拇医药