Posted on 12/05/2002 10:50:39 AM PST by Hunble
Does living at close quarters with a inoculated/vaccinated individual confer any degree of immunity, even if you don't develop a rash or pustules? I know (from the images section on the CDC site) that sometimes other children in the same household develop a generalized vaccinia or eczema vaccinatum - but what if there is no rash?
I would also be curious to know if the examples of siblings in the household with generalized vaccinia or eczema vaccinatum on the CDC site were a result of poor sanitation/ medical waste disposal practices on the part of the parents . . .
The CDC site cautions against an inoculated person breastfeeding. Does that mean that some immunity may be passed on? What about immunity from the original smallpox vaccination in those of us who were vaccinated but are still having babies (I'm done, but others may not be!)
Also, is "vaccination" or "inoculation" the correct term?
Best regards to your father, and please accept my thanks for creating this thread.
P.S. When I looked up vaccination and innoculation in the dictionary they each used the other word in their own definition. There might be a technical difference in how professionals would use the terms.
Understood. I'm afraid ours doesn't fall into this category. Given my husband's previously worrisome reaction to smallpox vaccinations and his and both son's persistent ezcema, I'm interested in getting all the information I can.
On the question of Eczema:
Jack Kirby: Yes, the Smallpox virus will cause an adverse reaction. Your mother has the same risk, and I would not adviser her to get the immunization.
Son: Dad, if there is an actual Smallpox attack upon America, are the risks of an adverse reaction worse than contracting the actual virus, even if you have Eczema?
Jack Kirby: If there is an actual spread of that disease, then the adverse reactions are minor compared to contracting the disease. In that case, they would be stupid to not get vaccinated.
Vaccinations that did not "take":
Hard to describe, since he tried to avoid the issue. He felt that we had a better chance of surviving than someone that has never been immunized. Frankly, the CDC simply does not know.
Son: So Dad, and I simply F**ked and going to die?
Jack Kirby: No, even if your previous vaccinations did not cause a scar, it is impossible to tell if your body did or did not create the anti-bodies required to fight the Smallpox disease. Not everyone will get a scar, and the only thing that counts is if the anti-bodies were created.
History of Smallpox vaccinations:
Son: Dad, in 1972 it was decided by the CDC to halt vaccinations against Smallpox. You were the head of Immunization at that time, so was this your decision? Can you give me some history of what actually went on?
Jack Kirby: How hold now, I was just one of the people involved, sitting around the table. This was a group decision!
But yes, we felt that the risks of immunization were greater than any threat of a Smallpox outbreak. At that time, Smallpox had been virtually eliminated and there are risks with immunization.
Son: But you also understood the risks of a hostile military using this disease?
Jack Kirby: Yes, we debated that issue for days.
Son: Dad, I understand this is sensitive information. I am also a student of history. As a personal favor, can you write down what you remember, lock it in a vault, and only Mom can release it after you die? You were there Dad, and this is part of history.
Jack Kirby: This was almost 30 years ago, but I will try to write down what I remember for history.
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Sorry if this is not better information than you can get from the CDC website. But I at least gave an attempt.
In all honesty, that Alzheimer's it causing a problem and I had to keep that in mind. But by asking the same questions multiple times in different ways, I was able to help him remember what he knew.
Unfortunately, I was hoping for more today.
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My father was a public figure at the time, so I have used his actual name.
I was chatting with my husband this evening, and he absolutely agrees with your dad's decision (he was in the military at the time, and was one of the last group going through Officer Basic to get vaccinated). It was far less likely that the Soviets would use smallpox than some rogue third world group, as we're dealing with now.
Thank your dad for us. We appreciate his input.
Jack Kirby: Yes, we debated that issue for days.
Considering the potential for undeclared samples of smallpox being used for biowarfare programs, why were safer vaccines not field tested in areas where smallpox was endemic. The question about benefits versus risks would be entirely different today if the vaccines available today were safer than the ones available in the 1960s. It is precisely the lack of herd immunity to smallpox that makes smallpox a tempting biological weapon. If we had a tested vaccine protocol that had been proved to be both effective and safer, there would be less hesitation in vaccinating healthy people prior to an outbreak.
I found an article last June about an attenuated German vaccine In Search of a Kinder, Gentler Vaccine (Smallpox))(developed in the 1960s specifically to build an base level of immunity to vaccinia to reduce the side effects of the standard which was then given a few months later. Unfortunately this combination was not tested in the field in countries where smallpox was still endemic.
Of course, until Smallpox is actually introduced into the American population, there is nothing to worry about.
I would like to know the answer to that also, as I breastfed my son. He had the chance to take part in the Smallpox vacine trial but declined.
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