Smallpox?! What next?
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 4,594
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From: Judo Town, USA
Smallpox?! What next?
Never before have I received any mail from either the CDC, or the State of California Department of Health Services, and I've been working in the Health Care field for over 20 years.
Today I get this packet about the new Smallpox Vaccination Program, and everything I really didn't want to know about smallpox. Including the fact that "terrorists or governments hostile to the United States might also have the smallpox virus and could use it as a biological weapon."
Bottom line is that the vaccination has so many inherent risks, that it will not be available to the public, or even to private health care professionals. Only certain response teams will be vaccinated.
IMO part of the reason that it may not be available is also because if this type of weapon were used, every person exposed would have to have the vaccine within 3 days, but time is a factor, and the sooner you get it, the better. That means there has to be a huge stockpile of the vaccine ready to be shipped anywhere.
How do you think I feel after seeing all of these scary photos, knowing I can't get the vaccine? Well, if I even saw a patient that looks like he has smallpox, I'm running in the opposite direction, unless I know the vaccine is right there for me. Sorry, but I have to keep it real.
I'm also a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and I feel that I have earned the right to say that our country needs to be very proactive with regard to these world issues. This is not the time to be a "peacenick."
-Pete
Today I get this packet about the new Smallpox Vaccination Program, and everything I really didn't want to know about smallpox. Including the fact that "terrorists or governments hostile to the United States might also have the smallpox virus and could use it as a biological weapon."
Bottom line is that the vaccination has so many inherent risks, that it will not be available to the public, or even to private health care professionals. Only certain response teams will be vaccinated.
IMO part of the reason that it may not be available is also because if this type of weapon were used, every person exposed would have to have the vaccine within 3 days, but time is a factor, and the sooner you get it, the better. That means there has to be a huge stockpile of the vaccine ready to be shipped anywhere.
How do you think I feel after seeing all of these scary photos, knowing I can't get the vaccine? Well, if I even saw a patient that looks like he has smallpox, I'm running in the opposite direction, unless I know the vaccine is right there for me. Sorry, but I have to keep it real.
I'm also a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and I feel that I have earned the right to say that our country needs to be very proactive with regard to these world issues. This is not the time to be a "peacenick."
-Pete
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 4,594
Likes: 71
From: Judo Town, USA
Originally posted by lucid
I had that shot a LONG time ago, do I just need a booster or something?
I had that shot a LONG time ago, do I just need a booster or something?
Protection from infection lasts 3 to 5 years, and protection from severe illness and death can last 10 years, or more. Vaccinated persons may have to be revaccinated after 3-10 years, depending on risk.
-Pete
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Registered User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,830
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From: Johnson City
That's weird that you can't get the vaccine. Our school has a special program where health care workers who volunteer get the vaccine for free. Considering I don't live in some big metropolitan area I passed up the opportunity due to the risk.
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2001
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From: Sydney
The real risk to world health is influenza. It killed millions in 1918. Nothing is different today. New strains keep breaking out in Asia and eventually one of them will be both highly contageous and deadly. You don't need an unlikely development involving stolen lab stock and terrorists for that one either.