vaccination against small pox.

[goodsamaritan]

I am terribly concerned that the younger generation hasn't be systematically vaccinated against small pox. when the vaccine is properly made it is nearly 100% effective against small pox fatalities and leaves a scar on the upper arm as to be nearly invisible. i saw on another website talk of INJECTING the vaccine. i recall being vaccinated myself, it is an armscratch with a needle which has been dipped in the vaccine. it should be than covered with a sterile bandage and the "patient" watched for mild fever. the disease itself is fatal to one in three most especially the infant population and the unvaccinated elderly. the official logic for not vaccinating is that small pox has been erradicated. this is clearly not true and i have even seen an online article which stated the government is aware that terrorists are stockpiling the vaccine. should there be a terrorist event, the resulting health crisis would be catastrophic. the virus spreads before a victim shows symptoms. if a terrorist were to smash a vial unseen on a large airliner those passengers would come into contact with many others who also would spread the disease before it was even known. by the time it was known it would be impossible to trace the number of contacts with the general public had occurred. small pox is a very high fever, respiratory ailment, dangerous virulent mucus and usually death. i have called the atlanta center for disease control to urge them to mandate vaccines and was told the orders had come down from bush himself not to vaccinate. this is tantamount to planning genocide. i have been unable to get this vaccine for my three teenage children and don't understand whatsoever the official position. also if this disease is erradicated [for the sake of other readers i will define - erradicated means completely eliminated world wide] than why selectively vaccinate service men and some health care professionals. this is dangerous and discriminatory. thank you for your help in advance.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

goodsamaritan, I'm just curious ... are you a fairly recent immigrant to the U.S.? Smallpox vaccinations have not been part of routine medical care since the late 1960s/early 1970s.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

As smallpox has been eradicated and there are medical risks to receiving the vaccine, I doubt if vaccination will make a comeback unless the disease returns.

As far as nurses are concerned, many of us would be barred from working for a time period after receiving the vaccine due to risks to immunocompromised patients in our care. As few of us can voluntarily be off work for any length of time, I do not see widespread vaccination making a comeback, barring the disease making a comeback.

(I have been vaccinated against smallpox - it took 5 times for it to "take")

[pickledpepperRN]

http://www.calnurse.org/?Action=Content&id=351

California Nurses Assn. Opposes Smallpox Vaccination Plan, Calls on California hospitals to not participate

January 23,2003

CNA's position is based on the following reasons:

1. There is no proven evidence of the likelihood of a smallpox attack. However, there are known dangers from a smallpox program both to caregivers and their patients.

Those include severe life-threatening skin reactions, brain inflammation, and non-life threatening skin reactions including blindness and toxic rash. The CDC estimates 30% of those vaccinated will be unable to work for a period of time. An ancillary danger is secondary transmission from the live vaccine form caregivers to patients and family members. Alternatively, the vaccine is effective up to four days from exposure....

[ZASHAGALKA, RN]

I was born in Sept 1968 and wasn't vaccinated for smallpox. I started primary school in sept 74 and I believe that was when smallpox was given, as part of school age immunizations. I believe that smallpox vaccination was suspended a year or two before, circa '72,'73.

Smallpox is a stupid bio-weapon.

The US and Israel both have enough stockpiles to vaccinate approximately 80% of their populations. In addition, most Americans just slightly older than me have been vaccinated once. While it is true that much of that protection might have 'expired', it is unknown how much protection these vaccines might still confer (smallpox might make a person w/ older vaccinations sick but that vaccine might still confer enough protection to prevent mortality - it's an unknown).

If outbreaks started to appear, the vaccine programs would kick in within hours. I'm not saying that there wouldn't be massive loss of life, I think I saw statistics that suggested .5 to 1 million in the U.S.

But. that represents about 0.3% of the US population. A travesty, yes, but would not seriously setback the functionality of this nation nor would it set back our armed forces - the act itself, would in fact, bolster our military by providing the motivation for the next wave of recruits.

I'm not saying that a million American lives potentially lost is just a statistic; it's the comparison that's important:

The Middle East (I don't think I'm racial profiling to suggest that this would be the likely origination of such a terrorist device) DOES NOT have sufficient stockpiles of vaccine and I am unaware of their vaccination regimens of decades ago - but, especially where Iran/Iraq is concerned, the 1980s war decimated their elders - the majority of their citizenry is young, and therefore most likely to have never been vaccinated.

smallpox has a roughly 30% mortality rate. Even if you assume some vaccination protection and advanced healthcare, I think a major smallpox outbreak would quickly become a world wide phenomenom. With the exception of The U.S., Israel, and some of Europe, the world would be fully susceptible to the outbreak.

Worldwide loss of life in the 20% range, except in the aforementioned countries, which would lose somewhere significantly less that 1% would serve no other ultimate purpose than to entrench American power and superiority.

Think about it: 20% means a significant plurality of every important job function decimated: medical, engineering, scientific, manufacturing, etc, etc, etc. If you remove 20% of any population at random, you have critically weakened it. And who would be left to pick up the pieces? Only governments and economies not so similarly affected.

If a terrorist group really wanted a world-wide upheaval, with the ultimate outcome being a more entrenched American hegemony, then smallpox might be a weapon of choice.

If you don't mind killing 20% of all your friends and family for no other reason than to make your enemies stronger, smallpox might be a weapon to consider.

Otherwise, it's a stupid choice. The Administration made the decision not to mass immunize because there is a risk of loss of life with any immunization program and it was felt that it wasn't worth the risk considering the above mentioned analysis of the stupidity of actually using smallpox.

There are plenty of other bio-weapons that wouldn't accomplish the complete opposite of its intent, as smallpox would.

~faith,

Timothy.