November 22, 2009
UTNE READER

Terror Fears Bring New Health Funding Priorities, Budget Gaps into Question

(Page 3 of 3)

July 2003
By Judith Scherr, Newsdesk.org 
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Dr. Hillel Cohen, assistant professor of epidemiology and population health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, said that the smallpox vaccination program was used as a ploy to get U.S. opinion behind the invasion of Iraq.

According to Cohen, giving the vaccine at this time "is nonsensical and, in my opinion, criminal."

There hasn't been an outbreak of smallpox in 30 years, he said, and there is little threat of one, given that the disease is difficult to obtain and deploy. For Cohen, it's a question of priorities: Five people died from anthrax attacks, he said, but some 20,000 die each year from the flu, mostly the elderly and impoverished. "So-called dual use is really the least efficient use of resources," he said. "[B]ioterrorism preparedness measures divert resources from public health needs with much higher priorities."

Patrick Hays, mayor of North Little Rock, Ark., believes each community must make the choice for itself; some may be at greater risk for a terrorist incident than others. "I choose to allocate funds toward the more likely things that might happen," he said, and noted that there is a greater chance that his community would be hit with an ice storm, tornado or earthquake than a terrorist attack. "I'm trying to take a sensible approach," he said.

Dr. Alonzo Plough, director of public health for Seattle and King County, Wash., agreed that preparation is necessary, but said that his jurisdiction doesn't have the resources for both terrorism and the public's critical health needs. "The post-9/11 world is all new," he said. "It's new for public health and the government. We have to figure out what to do. It's time for collective learning."

Additional reporting was provided by Josh Wilson.

Independent journalist Judith Scherr can be contacted at jescherr99@earthlink.net

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