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January 27, 2003

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Smallpox Inoculations Begin With 4 Connecticut Doctors"

New York Times (www.nytimes.com) (01/25/03) P. A11; McNeil Jr., Donald G.

Under a Bush administration plan to vaccinate some 500,000 nonmilitary U.S. citizens against smallpox, four Connecticut doctors volunteered to get the vaccine last week.  Several more volunteers from the state's Genesis Team were expected, but they withdrew following criticism from University Health Professionals, a nurses labor union, which said the union's questions about the smallpox vaccine were not fully answered and the effort was rushed. The government hopes to vaccinate an additional 10 million health care workers and emergency workers following the initial 500,000 as part of preparations against a possible conflict with Iraq or a biological attack. Besides Connecticut, Vermont, Nebraska, and Los Angeles County have also received the first shipments of 20,000 doses of smallpox vaccines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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