Joseph Henderson

oseph Henderson has been on the hot seat since rejoining the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2002 as associate director of terrorism preparedness and response, a job that carries with it a $2.3 billion budget this fiscal year.

First it appeared that many of CDC's terrorism-related programs might be shifted to the Homeland Security Department, as proposed by President Bush in his original plan for the department. Congress eventually shifted to Homeland Security funding for two major programs-smallpox vaccinations and the Strategic National Stockpile of pharmaceuticals for use in the event of a biological or chemical attack. But at least for now, CDC will remain involved in operations.

Then came the national foot-dragging on smallpox vaccinations for health professionals. Although officials at the CDC's parent agency, the Health and Human Services Department, had set a target of nearly 500,000 vaccinations by the end of February, fewer than 5,000 people actually got the vaccine by then.

HHS officials say the vaccinations are important to ensure that a cadre of health professionals will be protected against smallpox, should it be used as a terrorist weapon. But some health professionals say the likelihood of such an attack is uncertain and the risk of side effects may outweigh the benefits of vaccination.

Henderson is no stranger to stressful jobs and the uncertainties associated with planning responses to attacks involving biological and chemical weapons. In late 2001, after the 9/11 and anthrax attacks, he was the deputy director of CDC's Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program, which coordinated the agency's response efforts.

During the previous decade, Henderson worked on CDC's immunization programs. Before that, he spent 10 years in the Air Force developing the medical capacities needed to respond to the consequences of nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare. He left CDC for a few months in early 2002, working as the vice president and chief public health officer for Scientific Technologies Corp., a Tucson, Ariz., health and information technology firm.