Immunization Newsbriefs (c) Copyright Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii). Visit NNii's new website at http://www.immunizationinfo.org.
------------------------------------------------------------
February 07, 2003
U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"Bioterrorism Expert Backs Risky Vaccine"
Monterey County Herald (www.montereyherald.com) (02/06/03); Howe, Kevin
Monterey County, Calif., faces a growing debate about the safety of a smallpox-vaccine program that will be tested on the county's health care workers. Bioterrorism expert Dr. Richard Pilch of the Monterey Institute of International Studies' Center for Nonproliferation Studies recently provided testimony to the Monterey County Immunization Coalition about the dangers of the smallpox vaccine. Pilch says that 70 percent of patients who receive this vaccine report side effects such as rashes or fevers. Three out of every 1 million people who receive the vaccine come down with serious or fatal side effects, and 50 people per 1 million report rashes that spread across the body and cause tissue damage. Should an outbreak of the smallpox virus actually occur, those who contract the disease should be quarantined, says Pilch. Evidence suggests that the threat of a smallpox attack could potentially originate in North Korea, Iran, or the former Soviet Union, according to Pilch. Smallpox is dangerous because it spreads efficiently via contact, sneezing, or breath, which means that smallpox "suicide bombers" could wreak havoc among the general population by purposely infecting themselves with the disease. Monterey County plans on first vaccinating a volunteer group of front-line healthcare workers before vaccinating police officers, firefighters, and finally the general public--the public will be inoculated with a safer vaccine when it becomes available.
ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND
MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION
PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS
OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR
LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND
COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH
YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.