.  This Small Pox news article reminding us that small pox has not been seen in the US for over 50 yrs and the last case in World was 1977 - and most savvy scientist don't buy into the vaccine rhetoric!

Subj: Only 4 Get Conn. Smallpox Vaccinations 
Date: 1/24/03 3:15:38 PM Mountain Standard Time 
From: AOL News 

Only 4 Get Conn. Smallpox Vaccinations

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Just four doctors rolled up their sleeves for smallpox shots Friday in a feeble start for the U.S. government's plan to vaccinate a half-million front-line health care workers across the nation in case of a bioterrorist attack....

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Only 4 Get Conn. Smallpox Vaccinations

By NOREEN GILLESPIE
.c The Associated Press 

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Just four doctors rolled up their sleeves for smallpox shots Friday in a feeble start for the U.S. government's plan to vaccinate a half-million front-line health care workers across the nation in case of a bioterrorist attack.

Connecticut became the first state to take part in the vaccination program. The plan calls for 20 members of a ``Genesis Team'' to get the shots first and then fan out across the state to give the vaccine to other health professionals.

But the number of team members willing to get the shots dwindled amid reservations from hospitals, nursing unions and other professionals about the risk of deadly side effects from the vaccine.

By Friday, officials were expecting just nine volunteers, including a doctor to give the shots. The final turnout of four was a meager beginning to a plan touted as an important step toward protecting the public, but state officials said they expect to vaccinate the full team in the next two weeks.

State Health Commissioner Joxel Garcia said three nurses backed out after their union expressed reservations about the safety of the vaccine; one person withdrew for medical reasons; and the fifth wanted more time to make the decision.

``I'm feeling fine, thank you,'' Dr. Robert Fuller said after getting 15 rapid punctures from a two-pronged needle. The 38-year-old emergency room physician at the University of Connecticut Health Center added: ``I know the risks.''

Dr. Walt Orenstein, head of the National Immunization Program at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said modifications to the vaccine program will probably be needed. But there are no specifics yet.

``Until we begin the program and get some experience, it's very difficult to know what needs to be done,'' he said.

Routine vaccinations for smallpox in the United States stopped in 1972, but the idea was reintroduced in December by the government. Twenty states so far have requested the vaccine for members of their smallpox response teams.

Experts say as many as 40 people out of every million vaccinated for the first time will face life-threatening reactions and one or two will die.

The nurses' union at the Health Center recommended waiting until compensation questions are resolved, saying it is unclear whether there is protection for people who get sick and miss work as a result of the vaccine, or for family members who might get sick through accidental exposure.

State lawmakers are working on legislation to clarify that workers' compensation is available to program participants and that health insurance cannot be denied for adverse reactions.

The federal government has assumed some liability for the shots, but the protection applies only to negligence in manufacturing and administering the vaccine.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said he is trying to ease workers' concerns and develop a plan to compensate people who suffer ill effects from the vaccine.

``Make no mistake: We can and must make the smallpox vaccination plan a reality,'' he said.

Besides Fuller, Richard Garibaldi, James Hadler and Marcia Trape also received the injections. Hadler is the state epidemiologist; Garibaldi is chairman of medicine at the Health Center; Trape, who gave the shots to the others, is clinical director of occupational and environmental medicine at the hospital.

The state's goal is to vaccinate 5,800 medical workers by April, Garcia said. Officials from hospitals across the state said this week it was uncertain whether that goal would be met.

Nebraska, Vermont and Los Angeles County have already received vaccine shipments from the CDC but have not started the shots. The Los Angeles County health department expects to begin vaccinating employees Wednesday.

``There's no rush here. We're doing it slowly and in a deliberate fashion,'' said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the county public health director.

The first Vermont vaccinations could take place by the end of the month, while vaccinations will begin Feb. 10 in Nebraska.

The last natural case of smallpox occurred in Somalia in 1977. The last case in the United States was more than 50 years ago.

On the Net:

Connecticut bioterrorism information: http://209.150.7.232 http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/vaccination/facts.asp%und-off

CDC: (
 
 

01/25/03 09:18 EST

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.  All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.