Fw: An estimated 20 to 40 percent of the population should not be vaccinated

[Guest guest]

----- Original Message -----

From: " Kathi " <pureheart@...>

Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 9:51 PM

Subject: An estimated 20 to 40 percent of the population should not be

vaccinated

> FRIDAY, Dec. 13 (HealthScoutNews) -- Have you ever had a rash in the

> crease of your elbow or behind your knee? Even if it was decades ago,

> that could be enough to knock you off the list of Americans eligible to

> get the smallpox vaccine.

>

> Plenty of other people may find themselves exempt too -- pregnant women,

> patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients and AIDS

> patients.

>

> The list goes on and on -- all the way to Americans who live with

> vulnerable people. They shouldn't get the smallpox vaccine either for

> fear they'll infect their housemates.

>

> As expected, President Bush announced the nation's smallpox vaccination

> plan today, saying that the jabs will be mandatory for the military and

> that health-care workers will be next. For the rest of the country,

> however, the inoculations will be voluntary because, he said, the threat

> of a smallpox attack by terrorists isn't imminent and the vaccine

> carries risks.

>

> At a White House briefing, Bush said he personally would get the

> vaccination.

>

> " As commander in chief [of the armed forces], I do not believe I can ask

> others to take this risk unless I do the same, " he said.

>

> But the White House will first have to determine whether others living

> and working there are vulnerable, because Bush also said that neither

> his family nor his staff will be inoculated.

>

> " Our health and national security experts do not believe a vaccination

> is necessary for the general public, " Bush said.

>

> Experts also say a substantial number of Americans should avoid the

> vaccine.

>

> " An estimated 20 to 40 percent of the population should not be

> vaccinated, " said Dr. Steve Black, director of the Kaiser Permanente

> Vaccine Study Center in Oakland, Calif.

>

> But it won't be easy figuring out who must avoid the vaccine.

>

> Perhaps the most unusual vaccine risk factor is a history of the skin

> disease known as eczema. The infection can strike at any age, causing a

> rash that usually can't be cured without the use of a prescription

> cream. The infection commonly strikes creases in the skin, such the

> inside of the elbow and the back of the knee.

>

> Researchers don't know what causes eczema and a sister disease, atopic

> dermatitis, which is also a vaccine risk factor. But it is clear that

> people who have had eczema may be left with skin that's especially

> susceptible to the virus that is in the vaccine.

>

> " Their skin doesn't operate the way other people's skin does, " Black

> said, " even though there's no visible difference. "

>

> People who get the smallpox vaccine become infected with a dime-sized

> pustule on their upper arms. If all goes well, the pustule -- an

> infection with a virus similar to smallpox but much less dangerous --

> will heal and leave the body primed to fight smallpox.

>

> In people who have had eczema, however, the virus can spread across the

> skin to other parts of the body, said Dr. Corry Dekker, medical director

> of a children's hospital at Stanford University.

>

> " Under the current circumstances, when there hasn't been any release of

> smallpox, those people would be best served by sitting tight and not

> getting vaccinated now, " Dekker added.

>

> The challenge will be to figure out who's had eczema. " As many as 8

> percent -- or more -- of children may get an infection. It's a rash that

> could come and go through childhood and then be quiet for the rest of a

> person's life, " Dekker said.

>

> But even dormant eczema can make the smallpox vaccine more dangerous

> than usual.

>

> Other vaccine risk factors are harder to miss. The virus in the vaccine

> could get out of control in anyone with a compromised immune system, so

> AIDS patients and those taking immunosuppressive drugs -- like organ

> transplant and lupus patients -- can't take the vaccine. Some asthma

> patients may be at risk too because of the drugs they take, Black said.

>

> In patients with weakened immune systems, the pustule wouldn't heal, he

> said. " It would get larger and spread all over their body on the surface

> and also inside as well. These people get really quite ill. "

>

> The virus caused by the vaccine is also contagious, and Black said

> people who live with members of risk groups shouldn't take it.

>

> These various challenges are unavoidable, he said, especially

> considering that the smallpox vaccine is not a modern invention.

>

> " It's been purified more and comes in a prettier bottle, but it's the

> same vaccine used 200 years ago. We're used to medicine with more

> sophistication, a kinder, gentler approach to prevention, " Black added.

>

> http://www.uklupus.co.uk/news125.html

>

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