Following the terrorist attacks on 11
September 2001 there has been increased concern about bioterrorism,
much of it focused on smallpox. Routine smallpox vaccination in the
USA was discontinued in 1972 and most US citizens are susceptible to
smallpox. The last natural case of smallpox occurred in 1978 but the
virus has been stocked in freezers. If a terrorist had access to
stored smallpox virus a release could produce a chaotic situation.
In response the USA has developed a program for vaccinating adults
but children have been left out. The only available vaccine has
recently been tested in adults but a proposal for testing children
was not approved. We need to know if available vaccines are safe for
children so children can be safely and effectively vaccinated in an
emergency situation.
Abbreviation
CDC: Centers for Disease Control
aDepartment of
Pediatrics and of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale
University School of Medicine, and Yale-New Haven
Children's Hospital New Haven, CT, USA and bDepartment
of Pediatrics, Eastern Virginia Medical School and
Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, Norfolk,
VA, USA
Correspondence to Dr Robert
S. Baltimore, Department of Pediatrics and of
Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School
of Medicine, and Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital New
Haven, CT, USA Tel: 203-785-4655; fax: 203-785-7194;
e-mail:robert.baltimore@yale.edu
Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases
2003;
16(3):237-239
DISCLAIMER: 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.
"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?"