U.S. to purchase 500 million Smallpox Vaccine Doses

DEBKAfile,AFP Wire, Drudge Report and World Net Daily ^ | November 28, 2001 | Terrorism Security Newsletter

[umbra]

No story for the evening update yet, just the headline..but I did find an interesting Agence France Presse wire article that says that the contract according to USA Today (now on Durdge) has an 'option' clause for an extra order of 250 million.

This is in addition to the first order for every man woman and child in the United States.

[Tarzantheape]

You can figure that either they know of a real threat or that they only want to be prepared if it were to happen...

Either way, it takes time to produce the vacine-enough of it to protect all of us...and once treated we are immune for up to 10 years...so why not go ahead and get it in place like we would any other system of defense?

To me, it sounds like a reasonable precaution that gives terrorists one less weapon to use against us.

I just hope they distribute tin hats along with it...that way i can be protected from all threats-those real and also those perceived...

[umbra]

That is really frighteneing, If 500 million is what it takes to be prepared..lets roll

[Sunshine55]

I hope this is the procedure for adding me

[Iris7]

I've told everyone who would listen for thirty years that stopping smallpox vaccination was nuts, because of course it will be used as a weapon if people aren't vaccinated. All I ever got was "Huh?" or "the CDC says..." and now here we are.

A nearby thread is about the quarantine plans in place here in the USA. The post had an hysterical tone, but made one good point. If whole neighborhoods of cities, or whole cities, are to be quarantined in the case of smallpox outbreak - and cities are where this would occur, if it were to - then the quarantined people will try to escape what they see as, and is, death for them and their children. It will be neccessary to stop them. Do we have troops willing to machine gun the crowds trying to escape?

[Let's Roll]

I don't know that it is "right now". These doses don't yet exist - they have to be produced for hopefully delivery in 3-6 months or similar time table. Sounds prudent to me. I pray we have that much time.

[Saundra Duffy]

I'm gonna sleep a little better tonight. For victory & freedom!!!

[Judith Anne]

I heard Ridge or somebody on Fox (I think it was Ridge) talking about how smallpox would be addressed if there was a sentinal case or cases:

First, all contacts of the person infected would be vaccinated, then all the contacts of the contacts, in a widening ring until there were no fresh cases.

One good thing about the vaccine, even if you've been exposed to smallpox for a day or so, it still is effective in preventing or mitigating the disease.

[harpseal]

Exellent description of the why's but there are a couple of additional facts. Among last known outbreaks of the disease were cases in Iraq and Afghanistan. The corpses that were infected would still harbor the virus and exhumation could well be a source of another outbreak. The exhumation could even be accidental and ead to new resiboirs of the virus with the population of the planet.

Stay well - Stay safe - stay armed - Yorktown

[Judith Anne]

Actually, syphillis was called the "Great Pox" and smallpox of course, had the other name.

Gee, that was an awkward sentence.

[Warren]

That is an awful picture (#20) Sure glad they found a cure.

[Stevieboy]

Three thoughts on the whole smallpox issue:

1) The 'terrorists' don't have smallpox, or have no intention or desire of spreading it, and we're just being overly cautious and prudent. Good... no harm done.

2) The threat is real and imminent. Get on with the vaccinations: waste no more time.

3) Some evil force is taking advantage of the sheeple with the goal of depopulation, and the vaccine itself is the culprit. Yikes.

[kingh99]

and then it'' end up being ebola. The USA is starting to look like a giant Enron.

[Dog Gone]

I've been vaccinated for smallpox before and I didn't die, so I'll be happy to be vaccinated again. I'd take the anthrax vaccine, too, if I could get it.

Does anybody know why the smallpox vaccine HAS to be administered the way it is? As I recall from my childhood, it was not by syringe, but by a round disk with two bigger needles and a few smaller ones. And it leaves a scar, of course.

What's the deal with that?

[harpseal]

and ead to new resiboirs of the virus with the population of the planet. = and lead to new resivoirs of the virus with the population of the planet.

I will try not to fumble finger so much in the future

[kingh99]

first time small pox shows up here, there won't be much left of the middle east. people in the US will be smuugling suicase nukes into their backyard if the govt doesn't blow em all away.

[Judith Anne]

Actually you had to be infected with the live virus to get immunity...I think, but I'm not positive, that cowpox (a virus similar enough to smallpox to stimulate the immune system) was used in most of the smallpox vaccines we oldies got.

The pox vaccine actually had to be put in under the skin, and several punctures were made in order to be sure. Then, if the vaccine "took" (this is all by memory, now, so if someone else has better information, please correct me!)an actual pox developed. When you recovered from that, you were immune to smallpox.

Milkmaids, in olden days, were reckoned to be beautiful because they had unscarred faces--they never developed smallpox which was EVERYWHERE because they had mostly had cowpox...

Remember how sore that vaccination spot was? Imagine it all over your body....that's smallpox....

[SlickWillard]

Earlier today:

Pro-Life Groups Upset Over Origin of Smallpox Vaccine

[tallhappy]

Make it 499,999,999. I don't want one, thank you very much.

How old are you? Over 30? If so you got one.

Why would you not want one?

[harpseal]

The best place for a smallpox vacination is in the live skin tissue. Current pracrice is 6 to 8 strokes with a bifurcated needle that has been dipped in the vacine in order to placethe infection at the ideal site. A tiny blood stain on the needle is considered a-ok but bleeding is not desirable but will probably have no effect on the vacination's effectiveness. I note that antiseptic is not used in preparation of the vacination site as it may kill the virus in the vacine.

All of the above is available from the CDC.

Stay well - Stay safe - stay armed - Yorktown