A government bioethics commission says yes, but only under certain circumstances.
Posted 03.20.2013 at 3:02 pm
8 Comments
Bacillus Anthracis Bacteria
Wikimedia Commons
Being an ethicist isn't easy. Here's the quandary the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues just sorted through: when it's ethical to give an anthrax vaccine to children.
In the pro column, if there was a biological attack on the U.S., vaccination would prep kids for it. But on the other hand, critics of a plan like that say, the chances of that happening are low compared to the chance that some children will react poorly during a vaccine trial. So what's the greater risk?
The bioethics commission's report released yesterday says it's worth the risk of a vaccine trial--but only if that risk is established to be very low. To do that, health officials could first test a vaccine in older age groups--late teens, say--then work their way down to young children. If the vaccine is shown to have only very mild effects on older children, like soreness from the injection, trials could progress to younger and younger children in a process called "age de-escalation." Any reactions worse than that--even as minor as a mild fever--would require "extraordinary circumstances" and approval from a national ethics panel to use on children.
The anthrax vaccine is used by adults in the military, including on men and women as young as 18, and it's effective with minimal risk. It's even made from an inactivated protein in the virus, which, as Science Insider notes, makes it similar to other childhood vaccines. But there's not data on it for children 17 and younger, which makes any call on using it on them (or not) a tough one to make.
8 Comments
To comment, please Login.
Popular Tags
Science
140 years of Popular Science at your fingertips.
Popular Science+ For iPad
Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page
Download Our App
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone or Android phone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Follow Us On Twitter
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
April 2013: How It Works
For our annual How It Works issue, we break down everything from the massive Falcon Heavy rocket to a tiny DNA sequencer that connects to a USB port. We also take a look at an ambitious plan for faster-than-light travel and dive into the billion-dollar science of dog food.
Plus the latest Legos, Cadillac's plug-in hybrid, a tractor built for the apocalypse, and more.
Popular on Popsci
Most Commented
Science
- SCOTUS Justices Can’t Find Science On Same-Sex Marriage
- How It Works: The Most Powerful Space Rocket
- Over Time, Nuclear Power Would Kill Fewer People Than Petroleum
- Something Is Killing Up To Half Of America's Bees
- Solar Panels Now Make More Electricity Than They Use
- This Is Now The World's Lightest Material
- Speed Of Light In Vacuum Is Not Actually Constant, Study Finds
- Melting Glaciers Are Increasing Extent Of Sea Ice In Antarctica, Says Counterintuitive Study
- This Weird Green Rock Is From Mercury
- Climate Change Belongs In Classrooms, Say New National Science Education Guidelines
Most Emailed
Science
- How The World Will End, According To 1939
- Cthulhu Lives In The Gut Of A Termite
- FYI: Do Lobotomies Work?
- This Amazing, Zoomable Universe-In-A-Browser Puts Everything In Perspective
- BeerSci: Want To Wet-Hop Your Beer? Grow Your Own Fresh Hops
- You Have A 'Breathprint'
- Today On Mars: Watch Curiosity's Parachute Flap Around In The Wind
- How Big Is A Galaxy? Milky Way Shown To Scale
- BigPic: What Does This Photo, Taken From The ISS, Show?
- The Changing Forensic Science Of Arson Is Freeing Innocent Convicts
Most Viewed
Science
- How The World Will End, According To 1939
- Cthulhu Lives In The Gut Of A Termite
- FYI: Do Lobotomies Work?
- This Amazing, Zoomable Universe-In-A-Browser Puts Everything In Perspective
- BeerSci: Want To Wet-Hop Your Beer? Grow Your Own Fresh Hops
- You Have A 'Breathprint'
- Today On Mars: Watch Curiosity's Parachute Flap Around In The Wind
- How Big Is A Galaxy? Milky Way Shown To Scale
- BigPic: What Does This Photo, Taken From The ISS, Show?
- The Changing Forensic Science Of Arson Is Freeing Innocent Convicts
Online Content Director: Suzanne LaBarre | Email
Senior Editor: Paul Adams | Email
Associate Editor: Dan Nosowitz | Email
Assistant Editor: Colin Lecher | Email
Assistant Editor:Rose Pastore | Email
Contributing Writers:
Rebecca Boyle | Email
Kelsey D. Atherton | Email
Francie Diep | Email
Shaunacy Ferro | Email
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2012 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
The government will just label this free vaccine and test the unknowingly in some South American country, like Guatemala...
Yes, it's been done before.
Here is a link to a good read:
Unethical human experimentation in the United States
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unethical_human_experimentation_in_the_United_States
Tuskegee syphilis experiment
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_syphilis_experiment
US scientists 'knew Guatemala syphilis tests unethical'
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14712089
US says sorry for 'outrageous and abhorrent' Guatemalan syphilis tests
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/01/us-apology-guatemala-syphilis-tests
Remember this is the same government running our country to bankruptcy and frozen with decision making.
I do not see good decision making coming from this GOV... nope, no way.
.............................
Oh, by the way, the FISCAL CLIFF THINGY LAW, that was voted for and never supposes to happen. Besides this actually happen is POINT PROOF and creation of a LEGAL FACT by our own government declaring themselves incompetent when they say up front this is a bad law, pass it and then let it happen.
BY FACT OF LAW, THEY SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE FOR LEGAL PROOF OF INCOMPENTENCY AND THEY< THEMSELVES CREATED THE SAID FACTUAL PROOF!
.................. i diggess.
No offense but I wish more people who complain about our government would actually do something to change it.
bob clemintime,
I am a veteran\patriot and do currently work with the government. ;)
Of course if there was an outbreak, people couldn't shove needles into their kids fast enough and the outrage, and congressional hearing on why we didn't have a vaccine tested beforehand would provide soapbox opportunities for politicians for months.
As a child,I think this is a good idea.I'll be the coolest kid at school if i got the anthrax vaccine.(I am a real child)