Addressing the Smallpox Threat: Issues, Strategies, and Tools
Slide Presentation by William Raub, Ph.D.
On March 3, 2003, William Raub, Ph.D. made a presentation in the Web-Assisted Audioconference entitled Addressing the Smallpox Threat: Issues, Strategies, and Tools.
The is the text version of Dr. Raub's slide presentation. Select to access the PowerPoint® slides (52 KB).
Smallpox Vaccination Campaign: A Federal Perspective
William Raub, Ph.D.
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness
Department of Health and Human Services
Slide 1
Smallpox: The #1 Bio-Threat
- Highly lethal
- Readily communicable
- Few people have effective immunity
- No established treatment
- US enemies believed to have variola virus
Slide 2
Scope of the Current Smallpox Vaccination Campaign
Program is entirely voluntary.
- Stage 1 – Epidemiological response teams
- Stage 2 – Other health care workers; public safety personnel
- Stage 3 – Private citizens who "insist"
Slide 3
Rationale for Current Approach
- Vaccine highly effective but can provoke serious adverse effects
- Offer vaccination opportunity to those with highest occupational risk
- US prepared to vaccinate widely in response to actual smallpox outbreak
Slide 4
Major Issues Associated with the Vaccination Program
- Logistics and costs of Stage 2
- Absence of guaranteed compensation for vaccine-related injuries
Current as of July 2003
Internet Citation:
Preparedness Issues for the Local Level. Text Version of a Slide Presentation at a Web-assisted Audioconference. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/ulp/smpoxtele/sess1/raubtxt.htm
Return to Audioconference
State & Local Policymakers
AHRQ Home Page