Testing for an anthrax vaccine on children has received initial approval from a presidential ethics panel, sparking controversy and outrage from people who do not believe that children should participate as guinea pigs in the trial.
Children, as young as infants, would be tested on during the anthrax vaccine trials. But according to a report released from the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, there are still various obstacles in place before trials can begin.
"We have to get this precisely right," said Amy Gutmann, panel chair and president of the University of Pennsylvania, who also said that "many significant tests would have to be taken" before the pediatric vaccine trial could be an option.
And while critics argue that an anthrax vaccine trial for children is unnecessary because it offers only the possibility of harm with no benefit, Gutmann says that it is important "to develop the knowledge needed to save children's lives" in preparation of an anthrax attack.
But founder of the alliance for Human Research Protection Vera Sharav says that a pediatric anthrax trial would cause "moral harm for us as a nation and suffering for children. They should have said, 'thou shalt not.'"
Some people who are critical of the trial argue that antibiotics are enough to be used in children in the event of an anthrax attack.
But Dr. Daniel Fagbuyi from the Children's National Medical Center in Washington D.C. and member of the biodefense board does not agree.
"The point of vaccinating is that anthrax spores can hatch at different times and stay dormant for days to months," he said.
Fagbuyi added that a vaccine would provide protection from the disease much longer than a 60-day course of antibiotics.
The next step in the process will be for the secretary of health and human services Kathleen Sebelius to decide whether to heed the recommendations from the committee.
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