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Smallpox vaccinations will begin next month for key local health workers, who would respond first to an outbreak.
By JIM HALL
The Free Lance-Star
Local health workers will be vaccinated against smallpox next month, in the first stage of a state and national effort to protect against a possible terror attack.
Between 150 and 250 employees of the Rappahannock Regional Health District and Mary Washington Hospital will be the first to receive the voluntary inoculations. The two agencies are compiling lists of workers--from emergency room doctors to the cleaning crew--who might have contact with an infected person.
"These are the people that would be involved in the investigation of an outbreak. These are the people that would also be the vaccinators if we do decide to go with anything larger than this first phase," said Joe Saitta, the new bioterrorism emergency planner for the Fredericksburg-based health district.
"Pre-event" vaccinations will not be offered to the state's 200,000 police, fire or rescue workers. Nor will they be available for the general public.
"There is still no plan or discussion about a general, routine vaccination of the entire population," said Dr. Donald Stern, health district director.
Smallpox is a contagious and often lethal viral disease. The last case of smallpox in the United States was in 1949, and the routine vaccination of the American public ended in 1972.
Yet, smallpox tops the list of possible biological agents that could be used in a terror attack. The virus is portable, available and fatal for 30 percent of its victims. A suicidal person infected with the disease could easily pass it others.
The state's just-completed smallpox response plan assumes that anyone infected with the disease would end up in a local hospital, such as Mary Washington.
"This isn't like mild chicken pox," Stern said. "The fever is higher. The malaise is much more extreme. There's nausea and headache. You feel pretty bad."
Identification of the first case would then trigger a nationwide response that could include the vaccination of the entire U.S. population within days.
Stern, like most U.S. physicians, has never seen a case of smallpox. He plans to hold educational sessions for physicians later this month at the hospital to remind them of the symptoms.
"When something unusual turns up, they have to be thinking about it and let us know," he said.
The federal government, through its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, controls the supply of the vaccine. It is insisting on a phased approach to vaccinations. Health workers will receive the vaccine first, followed later, if needed, by "first responders, such as rescue workers.
Under the current plan, the vaccine will only be available to the public if a case of smallpox is identified. The vaccine is effective up to three days after exposure.
"There's no reason for [the public] to have the vaccine now," Stern said. "There's not an imminent, known smallpox threat in our community. Why take the risk of receiving the vaccine when you probably don't need it?"
One reason for this caution, Stern said, is the nature of the vaccine. The smallpox vaccine is a live-virus vaccine made from a virus called vaccinia. It helps the body develop immunity to smallpox, but it can cause serious side effects in a small number of people.
Stern estimated that if each of the approximately 250,000 people who live in the Fredericksburg region were vaccinated, four or five people would suffer severe complications, such as blindness or permanent loss of mental ability. The death rate from the vaccine is about one or two people per million inoculations.
The vaccination program also will include a screening step to prevent high-risk people from receiving the shot. These include children, those with weakened immune systems, those with eczema or other skin diseases, pregnant women, or those who live with a high-risk person.
"This is a reasonably safe and effective vaccine when you screen out those individuals who are at risk," Stern said.
By JIM HALL
The Free Lance-Star
Local health workers will be vaccinated against smallpox next month, in the first stage of a state and national effort to protect against a possible terror attack.
Between 150 and 250 employees of the Rappahannock Regional Health District and Mary Washington Hospital will be the first to receive the voluntary inoculations. The two agencies are compiling lists of workers--from emergency room doctors to the cleaning crew--who might have contact with an infected person.
"These are the people that would be involved in the investigation of an outbreak. These are the people that would also be the vaccinators if we do decide to go with anything larger than this first phase," said Joe Saitta, the new bioterrorism emergency planner for the Fredericksburg-based health district.
"Pre-event" vaccinations will not be offered to the state's 200,000 police, fire or rescue workers. Nor will they be available for the general public.
"There is still no plan or discussion about a general, routine vaccination of the entire population," said Dr. Donald Stern, health district director.
Smallpox is a contagious and often lethal viral disease. The last case of smallpox in the United States was in 1949, and the routine vaccination of the American public ended in 1972.
Yet, smallpox tops the list of possible biological agents that could be used in a terror attack. The virus is portable, available and fatal for 30 percent of its victims. A suicidal person infected with the disease could easily pass it others.
The state's just-completed smallpox response plan assumes that anyone infected with the disease would end up in a local hospital, such as Mary Washington.
"This isn't like mild chicken pox," Stern said. "The fever is higher. The malaise is much more extreme. There's nausea and headache. You feel pretty bad."
Identification of the first case would then trigger a nationwide response that could include the vaccination of the entire U.S. population within days.
Stern, like most U.S. physicians, has never seen a case of smallpox. He plans to hold educational sessions for physicians later this month at the hospital to remind them of the symptoms.
"When something unusual turns up, they have to be thinking about it and let us know," he said.
The federal government, through its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, controls the supply of the vaccine. It is insisting on a phased approach to vaccinations. Health workers will receive the vaccine first, followed later, if needed, by "first responders, such as rescue workers.
Under the current plan, the vaccine will only be available to the public if a case of smallpox is identified. The vaccine is effective up to three days after exposure.
"There's no reason for [the public] to have the vaccine now," Stern said. "There's not an imminent, known smallpox threat in our community. Why take the risk of receiving the vaccine when you probably don't need it?"
One reason for this caution, Stern said, is the nature of the vaccine. The smallpox vaccine is a live-virus vaccine made from a virus called vaccinia. It helps the body develop immunity to smallpox, but it can cause serious side effects in a small number of people.
Stern estimated that if each of the approximately 250,000 people who live in the Fredericksburg region were vaccinated, four or five people would suffer severe complications, such as blindness or permanent loss of mental ability. The death rate from the vaccine is about one or two people per million inoculations.
The vaccination program also will include a screening step to prevent high-risk people from receiving the shot. These include children, those with weakened immune systems, those with eczema or other skin diseases, pregnant women, or those who live with a high-risk person.
"This is a reasonably safe and effective vaccine when you screen out those individuals who are at risk," Stern said.
