News & Perspective

In the wake of a newspaper investigation that questioned the value of the federal BioWatch program for detecting dangerous airborne pathogens, some public health officials familiar with the program acknowledge that it's far from perfect, but they say it's not time to scrap it.

(CIDRAP News) – Positioning supplies of antibiotics in communities has been proposed as the next step to prepare for a Bacillus anthracis attack, and state and local public health officials are in the best position to determine where and how they should be stored, an Institute of Medicine (IOM) expert group reported today.

(CIDRAP News) – A comprehensive review of the nation's tools for reducing the impact of a biological weapons attack or other public health emergency—prompted in part by last fall's delays in delivery of the pandemic H1N1 vaccine—is due to get under way in the next few weeks with a pair of conferences.

(CIDRAP News) – The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) recently revealed conclusion that the late anthrax researcher Dr. Bruce Ivins committed the anthrax letter attacks of 2001 has been greeted with skepticism by many in the scientific community.

(CIDRAP News) – At first glance, the Web page looks like an overhead shot of a fantastic game board: a map—identifiably Los Angeles—sprinkled with faceted roundels in a half-dozen colors.

(CIDRAP News) – As a result of a federal court ruling that stopped the US military's anthrax vaccination program last October, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking for public comments on its finding that the anthrax vaccine is safe and effective.

Editor's note: A correction was made in this story Nov 9 to make clear that the licensed anthrax vaccine does not contain the recombinant form of anthrax protective antigen.

(CIDRAP News) – The Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) said last week that it plans to buy up to 5 million doses of the controversial anthrax vaccine currently used by the US military and put it in the national stockpile for civilian use.