Anthrax Vaccine Testing on Kids Unethical? Bioethics Commission Pushes for Further Research

A presidential commission reports that a new controversial government proposal to test an anthrax vaccine in children would be unethical without more research.

"The federal government would have to take multiple steps before anthrax vaccine trials with children could be ethically considered," said Amy Gutmann, who chairs the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. "It would not be ethical to do it today."

Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services Secretary, asked the commission to review the experiment after much criticism was given regarding the possibilities of what might happen.

"This assignment was one of the most difficult that any bioethics commission has been given," Gutmann said.

Anthrax has long been considered one of the most likely weapons a bioterrorist might use. It's relatively easy to make and put over a larger area, and the toxins produced by anthrax spores can be deadly, especially if inhaled.

"We want to make sure we're taking care of the kids," said Daniel Fagbuyi of the Children's National Medical Center, who is pushing for the vaccine in children.

The vaccine's been given to more than 1 million adults in the military, but no one knows how well it would work in children, according to NPR.

"We want to know what we're doing to them. Does this really work? And how does it work? What's the body's immune response to it? Those are the types of things that we need to glean," Fagbuyi said. 

However, many experts are concerned about whether exposing kids to the vaccine would outweigh the risks.

"There is something to be gained by going ahead with research on children. There is a common good to be gained in being prepared," Gutmann said.

But Gutmann says that has to be weighed against using children as guinea pigs for public good.