Where are you guys coming from with this? I was vaccinated before I began the 1st grade, I was vaccinated when I went into the Maritime Service, I was vaccinated when I went into the Navy and I was probably vaccinated at least a half dozen times in all my years of going to sea!
I have NEVER heard of anybody dying or even getting sick from this immuninization. The first time, you will get an itch at the site that will drive you nuts, but nothing more. After the first time, you get no reaction.
So where does this info come from that there is a risk of death from this?
Search for "Adverse reaction".
Studies Cite Smallpox Vaccine Tradeoff
When I did some surfing last year just after 9/11, I also came up with some lovely pictures of people whose arms are literally rotting around the vaccination site.
Bad reactions occur from smallpox vaccines and there has been little or no research on better vaccines for decades. It is however rare.
That's the point. The way things stand now, even the relatively low incidence of sickness or death that are associated with the smallpox vaccine poses a greater risk than actually contracting the dz and dying from it.
You see the smallpox vaccine is actually a live viral vaccine, not variola itself, but a related virus vaccinia. Any time you give someone an active "bug" you run the risk of complications. It's the biggest reason that smallpox vaccination in the country stopped, even before the dz was "officially" eradicated.
Actually, when I received my vaccination as a baby I was quite ill - ran a 103+ degree fever for about 10 days. My parents told me their doctor said I should think twice before ever having a booster.