Re: 500,000 Health Staff Should Get Smallpox Jab -Panel

[Guest guest]

On Wed, 16 Oct 2002 23:28:49 -0500 " Mike , LP "

writes:

> Because we are most likely to be among the first patients.

First Responders = First Casualties

" Everyone arrived here in different boats, but now we are in the same

boat.... we are the United States of America "

Ben S. Carson, M.D.

Larry , RN NREMTP

Nurse, Teacher, Medic

[Guest guest]

The small pox shots provide active immunity (that is, they must be administered

far enough ahead of time so that your body can make antibodies to the small pox

protein). Thus, you are immunized. I am not sure if there is a passive

immunization (i.e., gamma globulin) for small pox--but would not trust it to

protect me if there were. Most of us born in the 1950s and 1960s were

vaccinated for small pox (remember the little scars on your deltoid regions).

BEB

E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP

Midlothian, Texas

All outgoing email scanned by Norton Antivirus and guaranteed " virus free " or

your money back.

Re: 500,000 Health Staff Should Get Smallpox Jab -Panel

Shahla, I don't think the vaccine is effective once you are infected.

In a message dated 10/16/02 10:51:14 PM Central Daylight Time,

shah_emt@... writes:

> Dumb suggestion. It should be the patients who should

> be getting those shots first. Why are we putting cure

> before prevention. Or are we going to be unwitting

> lab animals?

>

>

[Guest guest]

You are so right! The smallpox vacinnation was a standard part of the

childhood immunization schedule. The scar from mine is still faintly

visible.

When I read the article, I did have to wonder why emergency room workers

were included but the FIRST healthcare workers these people will have

contact with - EMS personnel - were not included.

Maxine Pate

---- Original Message -----

> In my thoughts:

>

> 1. This IS prevention before cure. The purpose of immunization is to try

and prevent getting the disease.

>

> 2. The idea behind vaccinating healthcare workers and government FIRST

is to ensure that the country remains able to function and that there are

people there to try and take care of those infected. If your healthcare

workers get it and die, who will take care of the others?

>

> 3. It is not a guinea pig vaccine, I don't believe. This vaccine used

to be used until the early 70's.

>

> I just thought it strange that the rest of the front line folks who will

be the ones transporting many of these people, should it ever happen, to the

targeted doctors, nurses,etc. are NOT in the initial target group.

>

> Jane Hill

[Guest guest]

Dr. Bledsoe, please correct me if I am wrong, but I think there is a degree of

insecurity even on the government's part that the original vaccinations from

back then are still effective now. The long term immunity effects have not been

proven to my understanding.

I received shots in the very last year they gave them. They gave it to me more

than once too because mine never made the sore that it was supposed to. Of

course, I have never had chicken pox either (my sister is the same way on these

issues) even though we have been around and cared for people with it many times.

The thought is that we might have inherited some natural immunity from our

mother who had small pox when she was 3 or 4 years old and lived. I can only

hope.......

Jane Hill

Re: 500,000 Health Staff Should Get Smallpox Jab

-Panel

Shahla, I don't think the vaccine is effective once you are infected.

In a message dated 10/16/02 10:51:14 PM Central Daylight Time,

shah_emt@... writes:

> Dumb suggestion. It should be the patients who should

> be getting those shots first. Why are we putting cure

> before prevention. Or are we going to be unwitting

> lab animals?

>

>

[Guest guest]

I think this is another situation where our state BEM people, who have direct

access to legislators who can actually contact people who can get word to those

upper powers making the decisions, should point out this error. Jim? Kathy?

Can you look into this?

Jane Hill

Re: 500,000 Health Staff Should Get Smallpox Jab -Panel

You are so right! The smallpox vacinnation was a standard part of the

childhood immunization schedule. The scar from mine is still faintly

visible.

When I read the article, I did have to wonder why emergency room workers

were included but the FIRST healthcare workers these people will have

contact with - EMS personnel - were not included.

Maxine Pate

---- Original Message -----

> In my thoughts:

>

> 1. This IS prevention before cure. The purpose of immunization is to try

and prevent getting the disease.

>

> 2. The idea behind vaccinating healthcare workers and government FIRST

is to ensure that the country remains able to function and that there are

people there to try and take care of those infected. If your healthcare

workers get it and die, who will take care of the others?

>

> 3. It is not a guinea pig vaccine, I don't believe. This vaccine used

to be used until the early 70's.

>

> I just thought it strange that the rest of the front line folks who will

be the ones transporting many of these people, should it ever happen, to the

targeted doctors, nurses,etc. are NOT in the initial target group.

>

> Jane Hill

[Guest guest]

That sounds reasonable and much more cost effective too. Also, that would

reduce risk for complications by giving vaccine unnecessarily too. Do they have

a titer for this? And, if so, why has it not been mentioned and a mandate

regarding starting that process instituted? Seems to me that should already be

underway.....

Jane

Re: 500,000 Health Staff Should Get Smallpox Jab

-Panel

Shahla, I don't think the vaccine is effective once you are infected.

In a message dated 10/16/02 10:51:14 PM Central Daylight Time,

shah_emt@... writes:

> Dumb suggestion. It should be the patients who should

> be getting those shots first. Why are we putting cure

> before prevention. Or are we going to be unwitting

> lab animals?

>

>

[Guest guest]

Well, we should address it like we do Hep B--run titers on those who have

received the vaccine. If the titers are low, revaccinate them. If OK, then

skip the vaccination.

BEB

E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP

Midlothian, Texas

All outgoing email scanned by Norton Antivirus and guaranteed " virus free " or

your money back.

Re: 500,000 Health Staff Should Get Smallpox Jab

-Panel

Shahla, I don't think the vaccine is effective once you are infected.

In a message dated 10/16/02 10:51:14 PM Central Daylight Time,

shah_emt@... writes:

> Dumb suggestion. It should be the patients who should

> be getting those shots first. Why are we putting cure

> before prevention. Or are we going to be unwitting

> lab animals?

>

>

[Guest guest]

I have to admit ignorance here, Smallpox was supposedly eradicated from the

face of the earth in the 1970s (except for viral lines kept in a research lab in

the US and the old Soviet Union). Thus, I am unaware if this test is

available--but should be. We should have destroyed all the viral lines back in

the 70s so we wouldn't have to deal with this now.

BEB

E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP

Midlothian, Texas

All outgoing email scanned by Norton Antivirus and guaranteed " virus free " or

your money back.

Re: 500,000 Health Staff Should Get Smallpox Jab

-Panel

Shahla, I don't think the vaccine is effective once you are infected.

In a message dated 10/16/02 10:51:14 PM Central Daylight Time,

shah_emt@... writes:

> Dumb suggestion. It should be the patients who should

> be getting those shots first. Why are we putting cure

> before prevention. Or are we going to be unwitting

> lab animals?

>

>

[Guest guest]

Sounds like another something we need our BEM people to help us look into. They

are the ones with access to all the right people, right?

Re: 500,000 Health Staff Should Get Smallpox

Jab -Panel

Shahla, I don't think the vaccine is effective once you are

infected.

In a message dated 10/16/02 10:51:14 PM Central Daylight Time,

shah_emt@... writes:

> Dumb suggestion. It should be the patients who should

> be getting those shots first. Why are we putting cure

> before prevention. Or are we going to be unwitting

> lab animals?

>

>

[Guest guest]

One would think.

In a message dated 10/17/2002 12:35:29 PM Eastern Standard Time, je.hill@...

writes:

> Sounds like another something we need our BEM people to help us look into.

They are the ones with access to all the

> right people, right?