Pace of inoculations picks up.

2003 APR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The pace of smallpox shots for U.S. health care workers is picking up, with vaccinations under way in all but one state, federal health officials say.

Still, with nearly 21,698 workers vaccinated so far, the numbers remain far short of the original goal of up to 450,000, U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials said at the agency's annual National Immunization Conference.

CDC officials encouraged state and local public health workers gathered at the Chicago conference to get the shots, which are voluntary.

"We're off to a bit of a slow start but the movement is accelerating," the CDC's Dr. Raymond Strikas said.

Through March 7, 2003, there have been no life-threatening adverse reactions from the vaccinations reported to the CDC, six moderate-to-severe reactions and eight unclassified reactions, Strikas said.

While reports of rashes and itchiness are fairly common, the number of serious adverse reactions "has been remarkably few and we hope that will continue," Strikas told an audience of several hundred public health care workers from around the country.

While the number of vaccinated workers remains somewhat low, far more are better prepared to recognize smallpox if a case or outbreak should occur than before the government program began in January, officials said.