Smallpox Vaccination Campaign: A Federal Perspective

1
Smallpox Vaccination Campaign A Federal
Perspective

• William Raub, Ph.D.
• Deputy Assistant Secretary
• Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness
• Department of Health and Human Services

2
SMALLPOX THE 1 BIO-THREAT

• Highly lethal
• Readily communicable
• Few people have effective immunity
• No established treatment
• US enemies believed to have variola virus

3
SCOPE OF CURRENT SMALLPOX VACCINATION CAMPAIGN

• Program is entirely voluntary.
• Stage 1 Epidemiological response teams
• Stage 2 Other health care workers public
  safety personnel
• Stage 3 Private citizens who insist

4
RATIONALE FOR CURRENT APPROACH

• Vaccine highly effective but can provoke serious
  adverse effects
• Offer vaccination opportunity to those with
  highest occupational risk
• US prepared to vaccinate widely in response to
  actual smallpox outbreak

5
MAJOR ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH VACCINATION PROGRAM

• Logistics and costs of Stage 2
• Absence of guaranteed compensation for
  vaccine-related injuries