[Sabertooth]

IF Iraq has powdered small pox then perhaps they would trigger release of that viral agent upon the institution of a mass vacination program. Clearly there would be many who would blame the vacine for the outbreak and the resultant chaos would be worse.

Smallpox can't be triggered by the vaccine, since it's cowpox. Much of any potential hysteria can be pre-empted with that information.

[harpseal]

While most people who are informed about medical matters understand this we do have enviro wackos who would insist on blaming the vacine. I know it is not rational but the Democrats would of course pander to them as they make up a large part of the enviro-wacko support they get. On the plus side we may presume large numbers of these enviro wackos who so abhor any modern technology but live in cities will abjure vacination and suffer a much higher infection/death rate.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[Thud]

"Smallpox can't be triggered by the vaccine, since it's cowpox."

Smallpox vaccine is not based on cowpox. It uses a different virus. The article implied it would be pretty easy to make a bunch of cowpox and use that to protect against smallpox in the absence of special-purpose vaccine, but that cowpox wouldn't work as well as the special-purpose vaccine designed for use against smallpox.