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On Friday, December 13, 2002, President Bush ordered half a million
military personnel to receive the smallpox vaccine and first responders
will begin vaccinations in late January of 2003. This group of people
includes police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and
other health care workers. In addition, the President is also receiving
the vaccination in order to show his strong commitment to this policy.
The general public is strongly advised not to receive vaccination
at this time.
The program provides smallpox vaccine to front line troops, emergency
responders inside the country and armed forces and embassy personnel
that serve in high threat areas internationally. The fundamental
purpose of this vaccination program is to prepare those emergency
responders who will be exposed when responding to an outbreak. This
prepares us to protect all Americans in an emergency, while minimizing
any harm to the public from a vaccine that has side effects. Again,
inoculation is voluntary for those considered first responders.
How does this vaccination plan affect the law enforcement community?
Although the vaccination is voluntary, you are considered a member
of the first responder team who are recommended to receive the vaccination.
These vaccinations will be available in mid- to late-January. The
idea behind this is to vaccinate enough first responders, mostly
healthcare workers, to handle an outbreak of the smallpox virus
if a bioterror attack were to occur.
Why is the vaccine not yet available to the general public?
The smallpox vaccine is not recommended for the general public
right now because the government has no information that a smallpox
attack is imminent.
What are the statistics on adverse reactions to the vaccine?
There is a potential danger to a small percentage of the population.
Past studies indicate that with this vaccine there will be approximately
14 to 52 life-threatening adverse events per million vaccines. In
addition, there will be approximately 49 to 935 other serious but
nonlife-threatening events per million vaccines. There will be one
to two deaths per million people vaccinated according to the historical
experience.
Where do I get more information?
It is essential for anyone who volunteers to receive the smallpox
vaccine to be fully informed and thoroughly aware of the risks associated
with the administration of this vaccine. In order to make an informed
decision on whether or not to voluntarily receive the smallpox vaccination,
the Center for Disease Control and Health and Human Services have
compiled information on their websites to help educate the public
about smallpox. Both sites feature easy to find and easy to understand
documents about the disease: the vaccine, the risks, as well as
other important facts about the issue. For more detailed information
visit the CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov
or the HHS’s website at www.smallpox.gov.
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