The url at
John Hopkins gives some important info about vaccines.
"case-fatality rate of 30 percent or more"--This means if one negative reaction occurs in a group of 300,000 the same group who is NOT vaccinated would have a death rate approaching 100,000. I'd take the vaccine in a flash, if I could (my children,too).
"Vaccination ceased in this country in 1972, and vaccination immunity acquired before that time has undoubtedly waned" If you have a chance to take the vaccine DO it (unless you have other medical conditions that would contraindicate it)
"Contaminated clothing or bed linen could also spread the virus" Remember that among native americans given smallpox infected blankets, the following epidemic had a rate of 50% mortality, so pretend ALL items associated with smallpox victims are dangerous--they are!
"average incubation period of 12 to 14 days."
"Approximately 140,000 vials of vaccine are in storage at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each with doses for 50-60 people, and an additional 50-100 million doses are estimated to exist worldwide. This stock cannot be immediately replenished, since all vaccine production facilities were dismantled after 1980, and
renewed vaccine production is estimated to require at least 24-36 months.
In 2000, CDC awarded a contract to Oravax of Cambridge, Massachusetts to produce smallpox vaccine. Initially producing 40 million doses, Oravax anticipates delivery of the first full scale production lots in
2004."