Project EQUIPP

Forebearers

 

The following individuals are the forebearers to Project EQUIPP. They are listed below in the capacity in which they served on this panel in 2007. Their status has changed as is reflected on their Bios linked to each name. Please note that our dear friend and esteemed mentor Bill Patrick is now deceased and we miss him dearly. May God rest his soul.

 

Led by Creve Coeur, MO Fire District Chief Bill Brandes and Dr. Greg Evans, PhD, now Dean of the Georgia Southern University Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, this group of biodefense experts gathered in February 2007 to discuss and ultimately construct a Consensus Paper calling for pre-exposure vaccination against anthrax for emergency responders. 

 

This paper was sent to the Department of Health & Human Services Assistant Secretary for Preparedness & Response and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). The Consensus was also published in the Saint Louis University Institute for Biosecurity Spring, 2007 Newsletter.  

 

Shortly thereafter, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) convened a working group that would ultimately revise the CDC guidance on the use of the anthrax vaccine. These CDC Recommendations were voted upon and approved in 2009. In its Notice to Readers published in MMWR in July 2010, the CDC states its support of voluntary, pre-exposure immunization with the anthrax vaccine for “persons involved in emergency response activities including but not limited to, police departments, fire departments, hazardous material units, government responders, and the National Guard.” 

 

 

Project EQUIPP Forbearers

 

William Brandes, Chief                                                                         Dr. Dean Sienko, Director
Creve Coeur Fire Department & District                                                 Ingham County Health Department 
St. Louis Metropolitan UASI                                                                    Michigan                     

 

Graham Burnley, Police Chief                                                             Wm. C. Patrick, III
Member, Missouri National Guard                                                          Biological Warfare Consultant

 

Terrence Burroughs, MBA, RPh                                                          Edward Tomaszewski
President, National Pharmaceutical Association Foundation                  Firefighter/Haz-Mat Specialist FDNY (Ret.)

 

Dr. R. Gregory Evans, Director                                                            William Stanhope
Institute for BioSecurity                                                                           Institute for BioSecurity
Saint Louis University                                                                             Saint Louis University

 

Kevin Fogarty, Chief, Dutchess County NY                                       Rick Shaffer, Counter Terrorism Consultant
Office of Emergency Response                                                              FBI Special Agent (Ret.)                                              

Hazardous Materials Response Division                                                North Carolina

 

Dr. Fernando Guerra, Director of Health                                            Dr. Wm. Jones, DVM

San Antonio Metropolitan Health District                                                Rural Fire Fighter

San Antonio, Texas                                                                                Missouri Homeland Security Response Team