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.
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July 8, 2002
U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"Smallpox Vaccine Program Readied"
Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com) (07/08/02) P. A1; Connolly, Ceci
Federal health officials are putting the finishing touches on a plan to vaccinate emergency medical personnel this autumn against smallpox, a plan that can be expanded to other health care and rescue workers if the smallpox virus is released in the United States. Department of Health and Human Services acting assistant secretary Jerome Hauer says that vaccinations could begin within eight weeks and the number of people vaccinated could exceed 500,000. Officials plan to make the vaccine available on a voluntary basis as it becomes more available and is studied for adverse reactions. Hauer cautions that even one case could mean quarantine and mass vaccination, since such a case would be most likely intentional rather than accidental. The chance of such an attack is small, but the Bush administration is preparing nonetheless. A panel of scientific experts recently advised a limited vaccination plan for health care workers due to the risk of serious side effects from the vaccine itself, but Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson will probably go beyond that, according to several of his leading advisors, and there is widespread interest in the vaccine from health care workers, states, and associations.
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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
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