|
In response to President
Bush’s plan to increase our Country’s ability to respond to the use of
smallpox as a weapon, the Kane County Health Department is working with
local hospitals to create smallpox response teams. These teams would be
vaccinated against the smallpox virus so that they could treat smallpox
victims in the event that smallpox victims enter our health care system.
The President’s plan includes vaccinating other “first responders” during
2003 to further enhance our ability to contain an outbreak.
The government does possess enough vaccine for every citizen and it may be
made available to the public by 2004. It is important to remember, there
has not been a case of smallpox in the United States since 1949 and there
has not been a case anywhere in the world since 1978. Smallpox was
declared eradicated in 1980, but it is feared that rogue nations may have
stockpiles of the virus that they could potentially use as a weapon. For
this reason it is important that we are prepared to respond to an attack. |
