|
medpundit |
||
 |
 |
|
Monday, July 29, 2002"Now is the time to decide how to proceed with vaccination," writes Prof. Dan Michaeli, an infectious-disease expert and chairman of Clalit Health Services, in the July 2002 issue of IMAJ, the Israel Medical Association Journal. "Revaccination of people who were vaccinated once or more will enable us to acquire vaccinia-immune globulin in substantial amounts. This should be used for people who are prone to immune deficiencies. Other measures may also be applied to reduce the risks from vaccination, although these risks may be acceptable in view of the risks of smallpox re-introduction [by bioterrorists]. "The time has come," Michaeli concludes in his editorial article, "for governments and health ministries to sit down, prepare plans and implement them without delay, especially in countries already exposed to terrorism and/or heavy international traffic." "The methods of smallpox outbreak control are known and can be implemented - in fact they were successfully carried out in Israel [to deal with a natural outbreak] in 1949," write Health Ministry chief epidemiologist Dr. Paul Slater and colleagues in the same IMAJ issue. "The economic cost of preparation is relatively small.... A smallpox outbreak in Israel must not be regarded as a doomsday event. If it occurs, it can and will be overcome. "If we make the necessary commitment now to vaccine production and stockpiling, laboratory preparation, planning, professional training and public education, the losses - although substantial - can be minimized. Moreover, the reinstitution of routine smallpox vaccination in Israel must be given serious consideration, now and in the future, as improved vaccine [with a lower mortality rate] becomes available." The Israeli government, though, won't publicly talk about their plans. posted by Sydney on 7/29/2002 06:04:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
|
