Haven public health agencies lost interest in smallpox preparedness involving vaccination?
No. The rationale for smallpox vaccination in preparation for the threat of smallpox release as a terrorist act has not changed. In order to be able to ask health care workers and others to respond to smallpox, we need to vaccinate them first. Smallpox is associated with a 50% mortality rate in the never vaccinated. The Massachusetts plan was not implemented with a sense of urgency, but there has been and continues to be determination to achieve the goal of having a sufficient number of professionals from multiple disciplines who can be called upon to respond to smallpox without fear of acquiring the infection.
