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June 13, 2003
U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS
Smallpox Vaccine Recommended for Exposure to
Monkeypox
Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com)
(06/12/03) P. 40; Heinrichs, Allison M.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
is suggesting the smallpox vaccination for people who may have come into contact
with pet prairie dogs infected with monkeypox. The vaccine was found to be
85 percent effective in preventing monkeypox in individuals exposed to the
disease. While no fatalities have occurred in the United States, the
illness has about a 10 percent death rate. A prohibition of U.S. prairie
dog sales and an embargo on African rodents has been instituted by the
Department of Health and Human Services to control the monkeypox outbreak
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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.
"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."
-- Albert Einstein, letter to a friend, 1901
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820
"What's the point of vaccination if it doesn't protect you from the unvaccinated?"
-- Sandy Gottstein
"Who gets to decide what the greater good is and how many will be sacrificed to it?"