Posted on 12/04/2001 5:54:43 PM PST by rdavis84
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The American Medical Association on Tuesday refused to endorse smallpox vaccinations for all Americans, rejecting calls from doctors who say the disease could be used as a biological weapon.
Instead, the 538 delegates attending the AMA's annual winter meeting in San Francisco voted overwhelmingly to continue studying the possible repercussions of such a mass inoculation.
"We do not yet know that the bad guys have the smallpox virus," said Dr. Ron Davis, a public health expert from Detroit and a member of the AMA's 16-member board of trustees. "There are huge, complex issues involved and due deliberation is needed."
Some doctors said they worry the vaccine itself could kill as many as 300 people if the entire U.S. population were vaccinated. There's also disagreement about whether those already inoculated would need another vaccination to prevent a smallpox infection.
Babies younger than 1 and people with weakened immune systems couldn't withstand smallpox vaccinations, doctors said.
A nationwide smallpox vaccination program was discontinued in 1972, and the disease was eradicated worldwide by 1980. Two smallpox virus samples remain - one in the United States and the other in Russia. Concerns about security at the Russian lab have been exacerbated by the recent anthrax cases.
Smallpox is contagious, and roughly 30 percent of those who contract it die.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report recommending that no vaccinations should be given unless an outbreak occurs.
The CDC recommended a technique called "ring vaccination," in which only healthy people around a smallpox victim would receive the vaccine.
That's quite an assumtion.
That's a good point. Why is the government staying so "in-control" of the vaccine ?
They would have to send all day giving vaccinations at $25 a patient.
No real money to be made.
Can you imagine the chaos that would result if the government said "let's all get vaccinated; the sooner the better".
The health care system would come to a grinding halt as 200 MILLION Americans went zipping to their doctor or HMO on the day after the announcement.
I believe the RN can do that. At about 5 min. each, 12/hr@ $25 each= $300/hr. or $2400/day. Not bad. Don't know the vaccine cost. But if it's a Gov't paid for vaccine it should be no cost to the Doc.
I believe the RN can do that. At about 5 min. each, 12/hr@ $25 each= $300/hr. or $2400/day. Not bad. Don't know the vaccine cost. But if it's a Gov't paid for vaccine it should be no cost to the Doc.
I just got a flu shot last week at the county health center. The RN's were only taking about 30 seconds per vaccination, and the fee was only $5 per person. Some years some of the major pharmacy chains such as Eckerd's have sponsored similar mass flu vaccinations. A doctor's office is a very inefficient place to get vaccinated for an epidemic. If it were necessary to vaccinate in order to contain an outbreak there would probably be temporary mass vaccination centers with several RNs working under the supervision of a physician. There are certain classes of people who would be vulnerable to serious vaccine reactions including those who have weakend immune systems. The only people who would need to talk to the physician are those at particularly high risk of complications.
I think the AMA probably just wanted to get this discussion behind them so they can get on with their real agenda: ATTACKING OUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
This worked because the third world locales where it was deployed were populated by people who never went more that 10 miles from their homes, sometimes in a lifetime. I do not believe that it is a rational response to an out break in the United States in 2001. It would have to be deployed in conjunction with very radical restriction of civil liberties and vitrual lock-downs.
A universal vaccination program would eliminate that course of action.
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