Aide who had angina, smallpox shot dies

The woman, who suffered from angina, has a heart attack. The CDC is investigating.

By MIKE BRASSFIELD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 27, 2003

ST. PETERSBURG -- Federal health officials are investigating a possible link between the death Wednesday of a 57-year-old nurse's aide at Northside Hospital and the smallpox shot she received earlier this month.

Virginia Jorgensen was vaccinated for smallpox on March 2 and began feeling ill two days later. She had a heart attack on March 16, then lingered in a comalike state for 10 days before she died, according to her family.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating Jorgensen's case and several similar cases nationwide.

The CDC announced Tuesday that anyone with heart disease should not get vaccinated against smallpox as authorities investigate a possible connection between the vaccine and heart problems.

The vaccination never has been associated with heart problems. But the warning came Tuesday after a Maryland woman died of a heart attack and a handful of other people, including Jorgensen, had heart attacks or chest pains after being inoculated.

"We want to err on the side of safety," said CDC director Julie Gerberding.

Jorgensen, the St. Petersburg nurse's aide, had health problems before she was vaccinated for smallpox. She had angina, or chest pains, and was taking heart medication, said her daughter, Joyce Schubert.

Two days after getting inoculated, Jorgensen fell ill and was admitted to Northside Hospital for an overnight stay, her daughter said. Two weeks later, Jorgensen had a heart attack, lost consciousness and never woke up.

"She never moved. She was not responding to anything," Schubert said.

On Monday, her life support machine was turned off. On Wednesday, a CDC investigator arrived at Northside and got copies of Jorgensen's medical records. Hours later, Jorgensen died.

Northside Hospital officials doubt there is a link between the smallpox vaccination and Jorgensen's death.

"We don't believe it's connected, but it has to be investigated for that to be determined," said hospital spokeswoman Linda Parrish. Parrish said the CDC and the Florida Department of Health were investigating.

Florida health officials began vaccinating hospital response team volunteers for smallpox a month ago as part of Florida's plans to prepare for bioterrorism attacks. As many as 33,000 hospital volunteers were expected to receive the vaccine.

Experts estimate that 15 to 50 people out of every 1-million vaccinated for the first time will face life-threatening complications and that one or two will die. The CDC's Gerberding doesn't expect to find a link between the heart trouble and the vaccine but wants further study before ruling it out.

The vaccine carries well-documented side effects, but they have never included heart problems. Still, the data were gathered during a time when most people being vaccinated were young children not likely to have heart trouble, Gerberding noted.

Health officials plan to compare the rate of heart problems in the pool of smallpox vaccine recipients with the rate expected in a similar population of people who have not been vaccinated.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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