America's answer to the Sept.

America's answer to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks has been multifaceted and well-documented - the war in succession al Qaeda, the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security and the 24-7 combat air patrol coverage of Operation Noble Eagle, to name a few

chiefly Americans have been affected to about degree by these security measures. small in number however, have been at the same personal horizontal as those who had to receive anthrax and smallpox vaccinations.

Military members have been receiving inoculations against the smallpox virus since December 2002 when President George W Bush directed family in high-threat areas to be vaccinated.

Initially, the Air Force targeted medical professionals and designated forces in specific mission-critical areas as the first to be vaccinated. Those medics included members of the Smallpox Epidemiological answer Team and those responsible for administering the vaccine to others.

The vaccination program expanded with airmen opened to high-threat areas, such as those supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. "Mission essential" civilian employee displayed to selected overseas locations began receiving vaccinations in March.

The latest cluster to join the inoculation list includes many nonmilitary the public living and working in locations the Defense and State departments consider "high-threat." Voluntary smallpox and anthrax vaccinations are now available for the adult family members of service members, all appropriated and nonappropriated stock DOD civilian employees and their adult family members, and civilian contract employees

Civilian contractor family members are not authorized the vaccine. Employee who tender for the vaccination must be authorized by dint of their employers.

aged vaccine, new process

The United States routinely inoculated children against smallpox until 1972 and, in 1980 the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated worldwide. As a proceed the remaining small supply of vaccine was more than brace decades old.

"I think we ought to take a comfort in that," said Brig. Gen Robert Smolen director of nuclear and counter-proliferation at the Pentagon. "While the vaccine may be ancient this is the vaccine that was proven felicitous The supply has been proofed and there's been no degradation to quality."

single of the program's early goals was an aggressive public education program. Patients picked for inoculation were provided smallpox information from a variety of sources, including handouts, commander's calls, talking to health care professionals and access to the DOD smallpox Web site at www.vaccines.army.mil.

Before receiving the vaccine, patients go through a thorough prescreening process, because the vaccine has unique "contraindications," or reasons to avoid it, medical officials said.

"Contraindications in either the individual receiving the vaccine or the person's household contacts will obviate a nonemergency vaccination," said Lt Col (Dr) Kelly Woodward, chief of preventive medicine at the Air Force Medical Operations Agency, Boiling Air Force Base, DC

The service adopted a recent set of items to its prescreening program after the Center for Disease mastery and Prevention report on an investigation of whether a succession of cardiac deaths was associated with the vaccine.

"It's not known whether the heart attacks were causal or a coincidental association with smallpox vaccination," said Maj. (Dr) Mylene Huynh legate chief of the operational prevention division of the medical operations agency.

The CDC commended not to inoculate people with conditions as it is as prior heart attack, angina, congestive heart failure, affliction or other cardio conditions generally being evaluated by a physician, Huynh said.

In addition, persons with three or more of the following cardiac risk factors are being possessed of immunityed from smallpox vaccination: hypertension, high house pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, a family history of heart disease and now passing smokers.

Protecting the force

More than 350000 service members have been vaccinated since the program began six month ago. Although the smallpox vaccine does have a certain well-documented side effects, only 10 Air Force members be acted uponed serious adverse reactions.

"Many the bulk of mankind can expect to have minor side drifts such as feeling achy, low-grade agitation headache and itching at the injection site," Woodward said. "Those are minor reactions and unfold on their own."

The smallpox vaccine is a "live-virus" vaccine that uses vaccinia virus; however, nation cannot contract smallpox from the vaccine, Woodward said,

populace who were inoculated prior to 1972 will have to be revaccinated if they're preferableed to deploy to one of the high-threat areas, Woodward said.

"We know that, above time, the body's defenses against smallpox -- those gained by means of vaccination -- decrease," he said, "People ne to be revaccinated each 10 years."

A potential benefit for being common of those being revaccinated is that the threat of serious side events is lower than for those getting the discharge for the first time, Woodward said.