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eNews Article
New Smallpox Vaccine Plan
 

Smallpox was declared eradicated worldwide in 1980. However new terrorism concerns have led Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson to sign a $428 million contract that will make vaccinations available for every American. The U.S. stopped vaccinating against smallpox in 1971, and there is now little immunity left in the population against this often-incurable disease that kills one-third of its victims.

The new vaccination plan is outlined in a 100 page manual being sent to health commissioners in each state and will offer suggestions on how to vaccinate the largest amount of people in the shortest time possible. The manual makes recommendations on utilizing the National Guard, recruiting translators, building data systems and dealing with extreme weather conditions.

The plan will also work on two tracts; first to pre-vaccinate those emergency medical workers most likely to see an initial case of smallpox, and then to mass vaccinate the general public in the event of an attack. Federal officials are hoping to have tens of thousands of medical workers vaccinated by the end of this year. The general public would only be vaccinated in the event of an actual terrorist attack - which any outbreak of the disease would indicate. According to CDC director David Fleming, "Given that smallpox has been eradicated from the world, a single case of smallpox …would constitute an attack." The manual calls for the entire U.S. population to be vaccinated in 5 days from the first outbreak. Vaccinations within 3 days of exposure often prevent illness, and within 5 days of exposure can prevent death.

Some experts feel that the entire population should be vaccinated as soon as possible and not wait for an attack. Although only Russia and the United States are known to have kept stocks of the virus in laboratories, there have been fears that countries such as Iraq may have developed their own. However, the vaccine does have side effects and can cause death in some people, especially those with medical conditions such as AIDS or eczema skin rashes.

The country currently has 155 million doses of the smallpox vaccine but hopes to have enough for everyone by the end of the year, according to experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccinations will remain voluntary, however, the CDC is expecting that most Americans will be glad to receive the vaccination.

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