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 03, 2003

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Nurses Urged to Refuse Vaccinations"

Dallas Morning News (www.dallasnews.com) (02/01/03) P. 25A; Jacobson Sherry

Some resistance against Texas' plan to vaccinate as many as 40,000 health-care workers against smallpox is building among the Texas Nurses Association and 5,000 members are being urged to decline the shots.  At the national level, nurses associations are also discouraging members against becoming immunized until all questions about the vaccine are answered. About 375 hospitals out of 550 in the state plan to cooperate in the first round of smallpox inoculations scheduled to begin February 17th, but local hospital officials are concerned that the state nurses association will become an obstacle to those efforts.  Adverse reactions to the vaccine are rare, but can range in degree from minor muscle aches to very dangerous encephalitis or skin rashes, both of which can cause permanent disability or death.  To limit the number of adverse reactions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been working on establishing precise guidelines that would disqualify certain people from receiving the vaccine under any condition. Under the CDC guidelines people currently ill with diseases like lupus, HIV, cancer, or any disease that seriously impedes their immune systems, or with histories of skin disorders including eczema and atopic dermatitis, would be disqualified from inoculation. Also disqualified would be people being treated with steroid eye drops, mothers who are breastfeeding or women who are planning to become pregnant in the month following the vaccine, and people who have known life-threatening reactions to certain antibiotics, including polymixin B, streptomycin, and neomycin.

Vaccination News Home Page

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.