San Bernardino County Sun

National immunity syndrome
 

Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - When it's your turn to get inoculated against smallpox, will you be in line or out?

If all goes according to President Bush's grand plan to protect the country against a bioterrorism attack, by sometime next year, your dose will be available.

So where will you tell them to stick it? In your arm, or elsewhere?

Next week, smallpox vaccinations will be offered to San Bernardino County emergency health-care workers, as Step 2 of the Bush program reaches our neck of the woods. Those who say "hit me' will be assigned to first-response teams, charged with treating victims and investigating the dangers should an event occur.

Chances are there will be no waiting. No sleeping out to be first in line. This won't resemble a rush on Super Bowl tickets.

Across the nation, medical personnel have displayed impressive reluctance to the program. Entire hospitals have opted out.

For every willing health-care volunteer, there are a few more citing concerns over vaccination safety risks, nuisance flu-like symptoms, or the lack of financial compensation for those who might get sick.

In short, you wouldn't describe the smallpox inoculation campaign as infectious.

Last month, a frustrated Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson told a congressional panel that "a lot of people believe it's not an issue and haven't seen any evidence they should be concerned.'

Exactly.

Step One of the program was the military about 100,000 inoculations. There was some opposition, but not much. After all, it's the military. Besides, the prospect of fighting a war in Iraq against the biological weapons king, Saddam Hussein, would be a persuasive argument in itself to get the shot.

But it's tougher convincing those of us at home that there is an imminent threat, worth even the minuscule risk of suffering a severe reaction to a vaccine, or the bother of a few feverish days.

Is bioterrorism in America a possibility? No doubt. So are earthquakes and maniac gunmen. It could happen here, but not in, you know, San Bernardino County. That's human nature.

Besides, with such a fine array of options open to terrorists bombings, chemical attacks, landmark destruction getting a shot in the arm seems akin to eating an apple a day to ward off cancer, heart disease and hair loss.

"We have to do a better job explaining that (smallpox terrorism) is a possibility,' said Thompson.

Sure, scare the daylights out of us.

Unless a major incident occurs to spike interest, smallpox just seems like the Threat of the Month. Anthrax and bridges last year. Smallpox now. And what fashionable evil next year? Ricin?

It's nice that a vaccine will be available for those with smallpox concerns. But I'm guessing most of us will skip the shot and live dangerously.

These days, you get the shot and live dangerously anyway.

Gregg Patton's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He also writes "Like Nowhere Else,' which appears occasionally. Readers may write to him at The Sun, 399 N. D St., San Bernardino, CA 92401, call him at (909) 386-3856, fax him at (909) 885-8741 or e-mail him at gregg.patton@sbsun.com .