Smallpox vaccine reactions a scary prospect. (What to Tell Patients).

Publication: Skin & Allergy News

Publication Date: 01-JUL-03

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2003 International Medical News Group

DENVER -- "Should I get vaccinated for smallpox?"

Physicians report that an increasing number of patients are asking this question since the U.S. government launched a drive last year to vaccinate up to 450,000 health care workers and 10 million emergency workers for smallpox, Dr. Melvin Berger said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.

The answer may paint a somewhat frightening picture of potentially serious or even fatal side effects of smallpox vaccination--one of the main reasons why only 25,000 nonmilitary persons have been vaccinated since last year, and why 10 states have suspended smallpox vaccinations altogether.

Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised eligibility guidelines for the smallpox vaccine program after two health care workers and a National Guardsman died of heart attacks following vaccination. The program now excludes persons with...

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.