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(Army)Soldier Has Reaction to Smallpox Vaccine
Associated Press ^

Posted on 01/31/2003 5:43:42 PM PST by RCW2001


Saturday February 1, 2003 1:30 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) - One soldier inoculated against smallpox has suffered a potentially serious skin reaction to the vaccine, and officials are investigating whether a second ill soldier also is reacting to the shot, the Pentagon said Friday.

It was the first report of any serious reaction to Americans receiving the vaccinations, which began in December for the military and are just now getting under way for civilians.

The first case, a 30-year-old Army soldier at a U.S. base, was a skin reaction called generalized vaccinia, and officials were confident it was linked to the man's vaccination 10 days earlier.

In the second case, a 26-year-old Army soldier was admitted to an overseas military hospital for encephalitis, a brain disease that can cause paralysis or permanent neurological damage. Diagnostic studies could not confirm that his reaction was due to his smallpox vaccination. But he had received the vaccination eight days earlier, and the timing made authorities suspicious. They are investigating further.

Both men now are in good condition, the Pentagon said.

Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said the reactions were not surprising.

``We can expect additional reactions to occur; some will be significant reactions,'' he said in a statement.

There has been considerable discussion about the vaccine's risks, which are rare but serious. Experts believe that out of every million people being vaccinated for the first time, between 14 and 52 will face serious, life-threatening reactions, and one or two will die. People who come into close contact with vaccines also can be injured.

The vaccine is made with a live virus called vaccinia, which can escape the inoculation site and infect other parts of the body.

Routine smallpox vaccinations ended in this country in 1972 as the disease was being eradicated from Earth. The last U.S. case was in 1949. But officials fear smallpox could return in an act of bioterrorism, and the military believes its forces, on the cusp of war with Iraq, could face a biological attack.

Vaccinations are voluntary for civilians, but mandatory in the military.

The military has not said how many operational forces it has vaccinated so far, but said the total exceeds tens of thousands. In addition, the Pentagon has vaccinated 3,665 health care workers.

The military vaccinations began in December and include up to a half-million troops in high-risk areas, particularly Southwest Asia.

So far, most of the reactions have been minor, the Pentagon said. Three percent of the people being vaccinated had to take sick leave, with an average length of absence of 1.5 days.

The Defense Department would not release the names or locations of the two people who suffered more serious reactions.

The first case was identified last Saturday. The soldier developed a rash about 10 days after being vaccinated that included several pustules, or pus-filled blisters. The rash appears to be ``generalized vaccinia,'' in which the virus travels through the blood and infects the skin.

Generalized vaccinia can develop into a serious skin condition, but in this case, the soldier is well and continues to work at his normal assignment, the Pentagon said.

The second case was identified Sunday. The soldier's was diagnosed with encephalitis, but since the he has ``markedly improved, is in good condition and is expected to be released from the hospital soon,'' the Pentagon said.

Encephalitis can cause paralysis or permanent neurological damage. Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting and drowsiness. Based on studies from the 1960s, one person out of every 300,000 vaccinated are expected to come down with this condition.


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: smallpox; soldier; vaccine
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To: TomB
The aliens then relay that info to FormerLurker by way of crop circles.

Ahhhhh, the old "Crop-circle" cut-out trick..... these Space Aliens are ingenious.

281 posted on 02/03/2003 10:34:04 AM PST by longshadow
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To: TomB
YES!!! He used the H1B thread. I love that thread. Please everyone read it. See how FL thinks it's much more likely that I secretly work for an Indian company supposedly using H1B visas to sneak in sex slaves and terrorists (I'm not making this up people, that's his explanation for why they've got 10 times as many H1Bs on file with DOL than employees worldwide) than a government agency that has ADMITTED they aren't doing their job isn't... well... doing their job. See the crackpot loon in action, it's funny.
282 posted on 02/03/2003 12:06:56 PM PST by discostu (This tag intentionally left blank)
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To: discostu
You called me a shill FL. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=shill
283 posted on 02/03/2003 12:33:48 PM PST by discostu (This tag intentionally left blank)
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To: discostu
"Please everyone read it."

Post a link.

284 posted on 02/03/2003 1:03:19 PM PST by Boot Hill
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To: Boot Hill
Here's his primary. FL's got a long list of links over at LP. Funny stuff. Good to read that because then you can see how he grossly mischaracterizes the whole thing.
285 posted on 02/03/2003 1:12:07 PM PST by discostu (This tag intentionally left blank)
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To: discostu
Duh. One missed ctrl-v later

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/780596/posts?page=258#258
286 posted on 02/03/2003 1:15:51 PM PST by discostu (This tag intentionally left blank)
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To: discostu
Thanks, I dropped over an read it. Thirteen screen pages for one rant! What a whackjob FL was (and still is, just not here, thank goodness). And if that wasn't enough, he contiuned on to new lows with his childish accusations against you in his posts after that.

Do you remember his threads alleging a massive and secret underground (literally) satanist cults that were kidnapping, sexually abusing and killing little children? A satanist hiding behind every tree, just waiting to snatch your children! And the government knew and did nothing! Because they were part of it! More chicoms, I suppose. Sheeeez!

Did you notice that ever since he announced that he had lost his job last year, he really began going over the edge? He went from merely nutty to outright certifiable. I think we are going to be seeing our boy someday soon, on the evening news. Did you this this observation?

Boot Hill

287 posted on 02/03/2003 3:17:59 PM PST by Boot Hill
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To: Boot Hill
I didn't see the satanic kidnappings thing, but I'm not suprised, it seems he believes in just about every boogieman in the world, he probably fears chupacabra too.

What kills me is how he keeps reopening his own wounds. We had that H1B arguement, then we had act 2 of it a few days later. Then a month or more after that he brings it back around on a completely unrelated thread. And now two months after THAT here he goes again. It's one thing to re-open somebody else's wounds over and over, it's just damn creepy to be re-opening your own. What's funny is I'm still not sure what the whole arguement is about, I'm confused how any right thinking government hater (which I thought was part of the definition of "conservative") could defend a department that admits it's not doing its job.

I don't have too many recollections of him from before crop circle season in 2002. The handle was familiar to me but he didn't stick out in my mind, I couldn't associate him with any position or even style. Which kind of supports what you said, pre-august he was just another freeper, by november I had no choice but to file him under L for Loonie.

Queeg's got nothing on FL.
288 posted on 02/03/2003 3:30:59 PM PST by discostu (This tag intentionally left blank)
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To: RCW2001
Back when we used to immunize everyone against smallpox, this sort of thing happened with some regularity.

Vaccine Death rate=2 out of a million
Smallpox death rate= 350,000 out of a million.

Better odds with the shots.

289 posted on 02/03/2003 3:35:15 PM PST by CholeraJoe
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To: discostu
"What kills me is how he keeps reopening his own wounds...it's just damn creepy to be re-opening your own."

I think you're getting pretty close to the truth about what motivates FL. Time after time, he picks topics where any rational person would know, you're going to catch some flack. Notice too, what sets him off. His threshold is not "flaming". The threshold is reached long before then. It happens when you disagree with him.

Think about that; he intentionally picks a topic, he knows will get strongly challenged and when challenged, he goes ballistic. It sounds to me like a person with both an extreme level of anger as well as an inability to focus it on the true object of that anger, so he turns it on himself. He posts that crap so you can reinforce the contempt he directs inward. That's classical Oedipal acting out. It's a mommy/daddy thing. Serious cases become headline news.

--Boot Hill

290 posted on 02/03/2003 4:42:33 PM PST by Boot Hill
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To: Boot Hill
From the ether.....

Strangely, you were banned before you had a chance to post that page, that or you were banned as soon as you did. Now I don't know if it's because of your intent to post a page out of the "Blaster's Handbook", or if was because of your rantings on that thread, but for some reason or another, you were in fact banned. Notice how we didn't dance a little jig at the time however, such as you and your cohorts are now doing..

Strange comments indeed FROM someone who IS banned TO someone who ISN'T.

But FL, it is very important that you understand clearly what I'm saying here. We aren't doing this to persecute you, we are doing this to ridicule you.

If we had any desire to celebrate your demise, we would have done it when it happened, not a month later. The only reason you are having the crap kicked out of you now is because you tried to sneak back to post your anti-vaccine drivel under another name, and you were nailed almost immediately. You then go running back to your "new friends" to complain that you were unjustly accused of posting to a FR thread. And THEN you forget which poster you are and admit it!!!

I mean really, how could we NOT participate?

291 posted on 02/03/2003 6:22:58 PM PST by TomB
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To: RCW2001
SOOOOOO? BFD

292 posted on 02/03/2003 6:35:39 PM PST by lawdude
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To: TomB
Indeed! To all of your comments.

--Boot Hill

293 posted on 02/03/2003 6:38:55 PM PST by Boot Hill
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To: Pushi
Ignor this guy. He's a nut case.
294 posted on 02/03/2003 6:48:51 PM PST by Lee'sGhost (To BOLDLY go . . . (no whimpy libs allowed).)
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To: Lee'sGhost; Boot Hill; discostu; longshadow
Ignor this guy.

No, Igor THIS guy.....

;-)

(just trying to keep the thread bumped)

295 posted on 02/04/2003 9:52:20 AM PST by TomB
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To: FormerLurker

Well, we're WAITING!!!

296 posted on 02/04/2003 9:55:16 AM PST by TomB
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To: TomB
it's pronounced: "EEEEEE-gor".......

;-)

297 posted on 02/04/2003 9:56:08 AM PST by longshadow
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To: longshadow
My, what beautiful knockers you have.
298 posted on 02/04/2003 11:41:02 AM PST by Lee'sGhost (To BOLDLY go . . . (no whimpy libs allowed).)
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To: Pushi
When I was a kid, everyone took a smallpox vaccination. I never knew of a single person dying. My reaction was severe, but I lived with it.

Actually, it is possible to die from the vaccination. You're about twice as likely to be struck by lightning however. A lot of people get severe reactions for a couple of days, it feels like a nasty flu.

299 posted on 02/04/2003 11:49:22 AM PST by jpl
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To: FormerLurker; longshadow; RadioAstronomer; discostu; wimpycat; Boot Hill; Poohbah; Sabertooth; ...
Incidently TommyBoy, have you ever watched that show on ABC called "The Mole"? :)

"Mole"?

Little furry blind rodent. Now that you mention it, the resemblance is uncanny. Very weasel-like. Although you might want to try some glasses.

Don't get a complex Tommy, I haven't forgotten about you. I'm just preparing an EXTRA SPECIAL treatise on you.

Stay tuned folks...

I guess he gave up.....

Oh well, show's over.

That is until the next time "Alpha Two" shows up.

300 posted on 02/05/2003 3:44:33 PM PST by TomB
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