Bush may order smallpox jabs for all

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http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2001380019-2001390901,00.html

 

 

 

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 09 2001

 

Bush may order smallpox jabs for all

 

FROM ROLAND WATSON IN WASHINGTON

 

ALL Americans could be forced to have smallpox jabs under plans being considered by President Bush, despite fears that such a programme would kill hundreds.

Underlining White House fears about America’s vulnerability to a new wave of bioterrorism, Mr Bush said that he was discussing with Tommy Thompson, the Health Secretary, whether to order mandatory vaccinations.

“One of my concerns is if we were to have universal vaccination, some might lose their life,” he said. “But I’m looking at all options, all possibilities.”

Authorities in the US have already announced that they intend to stockpile 300 million doses of smallpox vaccine, enough for the country’s 260 million citizens. But last night was the first time that anyone had suggested they would be compulsory rather than used to cover an emergency.

Mr Bush made his remarks yesterday as he was touring the Centres for Disease Control in Atlanta, which houses one of only two officially kept samples of smallpox since the World Health Organisation declared in 1979 that the virus had been eradicated. Earlier this week scientists at the Vektor Institute in Siberia, which holds the other sample, gave warning that underpaid Russian workers could be tempted to sell the virus to terrorists.

The last case of smallpox was in 1977. The vaccine is fatal for one in a million cases.

 

 

 

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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.