Vaccine Contracts Awarded: U.S. Seeks Development of a Safer Smallpox Inoculation

Washington Post ^ | Wednesday, February 26, 2003 | David Brown

[Paleo Conservative]

The federal government awarded contracts to two companies yesterday to develop a safer smallpox vaccine -- one that might even be suitable for immuno-compromised people, such as those who have had organ transplants or are infected with the AIDS virus.

The vaccine will be a virus called "modified vaccinia Ankara" (MVA), a severely crippled version of the microbe used as a smallpox vaccine. MVA is unable to replicate in mammalian cells, although it does grow in chicken cells, which is where it is made.

[Paleo Conservative]

This good news. If safer smallpox vaccines are made available, the risks of vaccinating will decrease, and it will be more easily justified to have large numbers of people vaccinated before there is a release of smallpox. If a significant proportion of the US population were vaccinated against smallpox, it would deter the use of smallpox by terrorists.

[Paleo Conservative]

Here's more related threads.

Govt. Devotes $20 Million to Safer Smallpox Vaccine

Bavarian Nordic initiates Phase II of the clinical development of MVA-BN as a safe smallpox vaccine