Emergent, meanwhile, has continued to win contracts to deliver more of the old vaccine to the civilian stockpile. In a recent interview, two senior federal health officials, Gerald W. Parker and Carol D. Linden, said they remained determined to buy enough vaccine to inoculate 25 million Americans.
Henderson, the Bush administration advisor and former World Health Organization official, said he was uncertain how much of the old vaccine should be stockpiled for civilians, considering its shortcomings.
"All of us were quite persuaded that once you got the [new] vaccine, you wouldn't be buying the old stuff," he said.
david.willman@latimes.com
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Times researchers Janet Lundblad in Los Angeles and Sunny Kaplan in Washington contributed to this report.
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About Fear Inc. This is the second in a series of reports examining companies and government officials central to the U.S. war on terrorism. To read the previous report, on Soviet defector Ken Alibek and his influence on U.S. policy, go to latimes.com/fear .
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
An anthrax primer
Origin:
Anthrax spores are most commonly found in soil and can be artificially produced in a laboratory. The natural spores can stay dormant for decades before being ingested by grazing animals such as sheep or cattle.
Infection:
Anthrax can enter through a skin cut, through infected food or by inhalation of its tiny spores. Inhaled anthrax is the most lethal, killing 80% to 90% of those not vaccinated in advance or treated promptly with antibiotics.
Threat:
Some experts, citing the possibility of aerosolized anthrax, see it as a weapon of mass destruction. Skeptics note that anthrax is not contagious and is difficult to deliver in lethal concentration outdoors.
Countermeasures:
Prompt treatment with an antibiotic is the most reliable way to avert death. The standard course is 60 days. The U.S. government maintains enough antibiotics to treat 40 million people. Vaccinating people could augment treatment by protecting against any remaining spores and might speed reoccupation of contaminated buildings. The current vaccine requires six injections over 18 months, plus yearly boosters. So far, the government has purchased 29 million doses of it for a civilian stockpile.
Sources: "The Anthrax Vaccine" Institute of Medicine 2002; scientific literature; Los Angeles Times interviews
