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September 30, 2002
INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"Smallpox Vaccination 'Staggering' Task"
Ottawa Citizen (www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen) (09/29/02) P. A1; MacLeod, Ian
Ottawa medical officer of health Robert Cushman believes vaccination of all 1.1 million Ottawa citizens would require the city's entire health-care sector, which means that all other health care, besides medical emergencies, would be temporarily halted. The World Health Organization and the United States believe a "ring" or "search-and-contain" vaccination method, which requires vaccination of infected persons and those with whom they have had contact, is best method for countering a smallpox outbreak. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes vaccinating 1 million people in a single city would require 20 emergency vaccination clinics that operate at least 16 hours per day with 235 workers handling an average of 5,000 patients per day in order to stay ahead of the illness. However, Canada only has 380,000 doses of the smallpox vaccine stockpiled, with plans to obtain more in the near future.
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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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YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.