Survey on Smallpox vaccine

Nurses General Nursing

Published

  1. Smallpox Vaccine Survey

    • 45
      I have had the vaccine in the past and will get it again if needed.
    • 20
      I have had the vaccine in the past and will not get it again.
    • 31
      I never had the vaccine but will get it if needed.
    • 15
      I never had the vaccine and will not get it.

111 members have participated

I received one when I was six and again when I was 18 in order to enter nursing school. They had a plastic shield with air holes to put over the lesion. It looked like the blister packaging you see today.

My children both received it when they were five. (son b. '70, dtr. b.'68)

I have given hundreds and hundreds of them and the reactions varied from none to raging fever and pain. One poor kid had acne really bad and in scratching he spread the vaccinia to several places on his neck and shoulders. I never heard of any of our patients dying.

I dont know, I have had eczema and thats a no no for the smallpox vaccine so I've heard anyway..

they stopped the immunization here In 1973 or so which means , being that I was born in 77 I didnt get it...I have to find out more info before I would consider it ...

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Specializes in Telemetry, Case Management.

Personally, I don't understand all the hoopla over it. I took the small pox vaccine as a small child in the sixties, as did my sister and every other child in America. I don't remember anybody dying from it. I was small enough I don't remember it, so it had to be when I was a toddler.

I think it's a lot of PC over=reaction. And IF there is a danger in the present form of the vaccine, which IMHO is exaggerated, then why don't they revamp it and make it more user friendly??????

If they want us to get one, I will and don't see any big deal about it. But that's just me.

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Karo,

I think the hype comes from the fact that we would be killing about 250-300 people if every American got the vaccine and that's WITHOUT any evidence that any terrorist group has a weaponized supply of smallpox to infect us with. One in a million doesn't sound like a lot, but in a country with our population, you're basically talking about killing a whole elementary school (and one in a million is just an estimate of deaths, not serious complications). If we are going to get paranoid enough to kill 300 people the terrorists could just sit back and take a break.

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Specializes in Peds, Pre and post op.

Dont you have 4 days to get vaccinated after exposure? I thinks thats what the centers for disease control said (cdc.gov). Their site has a lot of info on it.

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I work in public health and I'm not going to get it now because of the risks. But if they decide that there's a risk, we have 10 days to get the vaccine. So be sure to volunteer for the event clinics if your asked to sign up because you will porbably be able to get your and your family vaccinated first.

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I was b. 1963, and my school records say I got smallpox vaccination twice (I had my vaccines at school, too, because our family doctor was an osteopath and did not do inoculations). Never had a reaction, except the scar (very faint now)...did have a reaction to my rubella inoculation, though...in fact, I got rubella (there was a scandal about not-quite-killed-enough vaccines back in the late '60s, and guess who got one of them :D ). I would get the booster if needed (but I would appreciate a titer, if available!), since I had no negative sequelae the first 2 times, and my health is basically the same (yeah, I'm older, but I also outgrew my really bad childhood allergies, so I consider it a draw ;) ). But would I let my kids be immunized...hmm, that's a different kettle of fish. They've had all their vaccines so far with no bad consequences (that I know of!)...but if the threat doesn't become more tangible, I would have to think long and hard about letting them get it "just in case."

BTW, I went to nursing school with a student who spent his childhood in Libya, and he lost his entire family (mother, father, two older sisters and baby brother) to smallpox. I've lost track of him since graduation...I wonder what his take on this would be?

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Originally posted by BBnurse34

Does anyone feel that medical personel have an obligation to get vaccinated against smallpox so that there will be immune nurses and doctors to care for anyone affected if an outbreak occurs?

Unfortunately nurses would be contagious until the scab falls off. Patients and their families who are infants, pregnant, HIV+, have eczema, received cancer treatments, or are on steroids are at great risk.

The families of the person vaccinated also are at risk.

A person who accidentally touches the vaccination then scratches or touches their eyes, nose, or other mucus membranes could spread it. The virus could cause a brain lesion, blindness, and become a chronic or even lethal infection.

It would still be worth the risk if we knew there would be an outbreak (attack?).

Just my view.

http://www.vaccines.army.mil/smallpox.asp

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Specializes in med/surg, cardiac/telemetry, hospice.

Does anybody know if there is a titer available? I'd rather do that first. I'm wary; my chance of exposure to the disease is far smaller than my having a complication.

Besides, I hate needles! :mad:

;)

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