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June 7, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Americans Want Access to Vaccine for Smallpox"

Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com) (06/06/02) P. D3; Machalaba, Daniel

A survey conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health determined that 59 percent of Americans want to receive a smallpox vaccination to protect themselves against a bioterrorist attack even though they were told the smallpox vaccine would likely cause serious side effects.  The survey included 2,000 Americans and was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends using ring vaccinations that would include only those who came in contact with infected people, but the agency is now considering establishing a mass smallpox vaccination campaign. The survey also determined that 81 percent of survey participants would want the smallpox vaccine if smallpox cases were found in their community, 85 percent knew the disease is contagious, 90 percent knew that infected persons need to be isolated, 43 percent knew that smallpox was preventable with the vaccine after exposure but before symptoms, and 32 percent knew that the disease cannot be cured once symptoms appear.

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