Smallpox Vaccination

[jdurfeeathome]

For those interested in what the US government is doing in plans to have us
all vaccinated for smallpox I thought this article might be of interest.
Barbara

for a copy of this article go to:
http://mercola.com/2002/jun/12/smallpox_update.htm#4

Report of the CDC Public Forum on Smallpox

By Dr. Sherri Tenpenny

The CDC held the third of a series of meetings called the “Public Forum on
Smallpox” on June 8, 2002 in St.Louis, Missouri. In front of asmall group of
approximately 60 people, I had the opportunity to deliver a five minute
speech as the representative of the National Vaccine Information Center
(NVIC), the major grassroots organization on vaccine awareness in America.
Please read my five minute speech in its entirety and the NVIC's postion on
the smallpox topic..

During the presentation, I also had the opportunity to ask several very
pointed questions directed toward the CDC representatives. This is my report
of the meeting.

Everyone should be aware that the CDC will review the answers collected on
its website. The deadline for submission is JUNE 12, but keep sending your
comments even after the deadline. All of the questions and comments made at
the forums are being taped and will be reviewed by the members of the
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) prior to their final
recommendations June 20, 2002.

My understanding as after participating in this meeting is that the CDC not
only wants to solicit comments, but to see how "willingly" we will accept the
vaccine.

The CDC was very forthright in presenting truthful and accurate information
about smallpox and about the anticipated problems associated with the
vaccine. Surprisingly, it seemed the CDC was advising GREAT CAUTION regarding
the use of the vaccine.

Even in the event of an outbreak, the greatest emphasis would be placed on
isolation, not just on containment (vaccination). This certainly was not what
I was expecting to hear. And unless you were an informed listener, you would
have missed the most amazing things that the CDC said about a smallpox
infection.

The morning opened with Dr. Robert Belshe, M.D, Director of the Division of
Infectious Diseases and Immunology from St. Louis University. He has been
directly involved with clinical trials involving the Dryvax® vaccine.1 He
presented an overview of the questions the CDC put forth to the community and
placed on their website. This was a very important clarification, as the
formatting of these questions is very unclear.

The program continued with Dr. Joel Kuritsky, the CDC's director of the
Preparedness and Early Smallpox Response Activity for the National
Immunization Program. He stated that one of the reasons that the forums were
being held was to clear up some misconceptions about smallpox. "For one
thing," he said, "smallpox is not explosively contagious."

On two separate occasions, Kuritsky said, "smallpox is NOT like measles; it
is NOT a highly contagious disease." This has been one of the cornerstone
arguments for mass vaccination propagated by both medical journals and the
popular press! I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

Was anyone else in the room picking up on this??

Kuritsky expounded on other smallpox misconceptions:
An extremely important revelation that Kuritsky delineated was that smallpox
will not spread rapidly through the population. The disease is "transmitted
slowly and only after prolonged, direct, face-to-face contact." He further
clarified close contact to mean "more than 7 days" and face-to-face to mean
"contact that is within 6-7 feet."
Scientific studies were presented to accentuate this point.2 Therefore, it is
the intensity and duration of contact that spreads smallpox. Dr. Kuritsky
said casual contact will not spread smallpox. "The scenario in which a
terrorist infects himself and walks through a city spreading the disease just
wouldn't happen, even in population-dense areas.
In the 1970s, we were able to control the spread of the infection even in
highly dense settings such as India and Bangladesh," he explained.
Kuritsky's information comes in part from a recent paper published by
Meltzer. After analyzing data obtained from an outbreak that occurred in
1898, Meltzer's group concluded that "smallpox was not readily spread among
the general population by brief, casual encounters, such as walking down the
street beside an ill person or briefly being in the same shop or business.
Rather, smallpox was primarily spread among persons living in the same house
as a smallpox patient. 3
Meltzer's paper goes on to state that, "most outbreaks have an average
transmission rate of less than 1 person infected per infectious person."4
This means that less than one person contracted smallpox from a primarily
infected person! The oft-repeated story that "millions could die from the
rapid spread of smallpox after an exposure" appears to be nothing more than
theoretical hype. (I strongly encourage everyone to read this paper.)
It is critically important to understand that people are only contagious
after the smallpox pustules have erupted on the skin. There is no "carrier
state" for this disease, as seen with chickenpox, in which the person is
contagious for several days before the vesicular rash occurs.
The incubation period after an acute exposure to smallpox can range from 2-17
days. The onset of a fever is a warning sign, indicating that the person may
have contracted the infection. This is referred to as the "prodromal stage."
At that point, the person feels very ill and will most likely go to bed. "The
person is sick and will not be walking around," said Kuritsky.
The value of surveillance post-exposure lies in the fact that a person's
temperature can be monitored daily and he can be quarantined at the onset of
fever , preferably in his own home. However it is critically important to
understand that, even at this stage, the person is not contagious!!
It is only after the appearance of the smallpox rash, generally 2 to 4 days
after the onset of the fever, that the person becomes infectious. Keep in
mind that there are other causes for fever: the person may just have the
flu!!
The smallpox rash has a distinctive appearance and feel. The distribution is
primarily on the face, palms and soles, with very little seen on the trunk.
In addition, unlike chickenpox, all of the pustules have a consistent
appearance throughout the body. When palpated, the rash feels "shoddy," or
like buckshot under the surface of the skin.
However, there are other rashes that can potentially be "confused" with
smallpox. Dr. Kuritsky gave a list of infectious diseases that present with
rashes that can potentially be misinterpreted as smallpox:

In addition to viruses, reactions to medications can occasionally precipitate
a rash that could be mistaken for smallpox. The CDC has established a "rash
algorithm" to assist healthcare professionals in differentiating smallpox
from other skin conditions. This can be viewed by going to
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/smallpox/poster-protocol.pdf.
In addition, the CDC has set up a 24 hour "Rash Hotline" at 770-488-7100.
With all these helpful aides to assist practitioners in making the correct
diagnosis, it is doubtful that one of these rashes could be confused with
smallpox, precipitating the mass havoc as seen on the recent "ER" episode.
Prior to 1967, the World Health Organization stated that a global vaccination
rate of greater than 80% was needed to eradicate smallpox. However, even when
this rate was attained, outbreaks still occurred in Asia and India.5
Therefore, a new strategy was introduced in 1973. Smallpox cases were
actively searched for and isolated.
Vaccination of only the person's immediate close contacts created a barrier
"ring" to decrease the spread of the infection. Within two years after the
implementation of surveillance and containment approach, the number of
smallpox outbreaks had dramatically declined.6 This is the basis for the
current CDC recommendations of "surveillance and containment" in the event of
an attack.
It is crucial to realize that even in the event of a confirmed case of
smallpox, there is no need to panic. The CDC's position paper on smallpox,
"Vaccinia (Smallpox) Vaccine Recommendations" published June, 2001[7] states
that vaccination of close personal contacts within 4 days of the onset of the
rash will be protective.
However, Dr. Kuritsky stated that "vaccination 12-13 days out will still be
protective." Based on this information, it appears that any rush to vaccinate
first responders and medical personnel is not based on current understanding
of the disease and appears to be inappropriate.
Dr. Harold Margolis, CDC senior advisor for smallpox preparedness, was the
next to speak. The majority of his presentation focused on the potential side
effects and complications of the vaccinia vaccine. As a former pediatrician
who was still in practice when the smallpox vaccine was still given
routinely, he had seen many of these reactions first hand. Dozens of
impressive pictures were shown demonstrating the types of reactions that
could occur.
In fact, many more dreadful pictures were shown of smallpox vaccine reactions
than of smallpox itself!
It is an unfortunate fact that a large percentage of the population is in
much poorer health today than when smallpox vaccine was "routinely" given
prior to 1971 and this exponentially increases the risk of vaccination
complications.
Now more than 25% of our population is immunosuppressed by diseases or drugs.
This includes more than 28 million people with eczema[8] and millions more
with a past history of eczema; 184,000 organ recipients,[9] 850,000
individuals with diagnosed and undiagnosed HIV infection or AIDS,[10] and 8.5
million people with cancer.[11] Dr. Margolis presented a slide that contained
these facts.
What he failed to discuss, however, were risks involving the untold millions
who are taking immunosuppressive drugs such as the corticosteroids
Prednisone® and Medrol®.
These medications are given to both adults and children, and are prescribed
for dozens of conditions including but not limited to: asthma; emphysema;
allergies; Crohn's disease; multiple sclerosis; herniated spinal discs; acute
muscular pain syndromes; and all types rheumatoid and autoimmune diseases.
All of these patients would be at risk for serious complications -- including
death -- not only from the vaccine, but also from coming in contact with a
vaccinated individual.

Dr. Margolis provided the following information regarding the current and
projected supply of the vaccine stock:
Name of vaccine Manufacturer Made from Number of doses
Dryvax (1982) Wyeth Calf lymph 15-75 million
Accum 1000 (new) Acambis MRC-5 cells (human fetal tissue) 54 million
Accum 2000 (new) Acambis Vero cells (monkey tissue) 155 million

"frozen vaccine"(1980s) Aventis (Unsure) 70-90 million

He reaffirmed that vaccinia is NOT cowpox; it is a completely separate virus.
In addition, he remarked in passing that the vaccinia vaccine is considered
an IND, or investigational new drug. This designation should not be taken
lightly. The old versions of the vaccine-the Aventis vaccine and Dryvax® --
will be re-released. These vaccines were never subjected to controlled
clinical trials. The new Acambis vaccines will not have to be subjected to
rigorous safety standards in human trials.
The new FDA rulings on the development of drugs and vaccines related to
bioterrorism will lower safety production standards to fast-track production.
And as always, vaccine manufacturers as well as physicians will be protected
from liability for any vaccine-induced injuries or deaths that will
undoubtedly occur. These facts must be taken into consideration before
deciding to receive the vaccine.

There was a "wrap up" of the morning, and then the floor was opened to
questions from the audience. I asked the following questions:

In addition, this reported 30% death rate is a statistic based on old data.
It is doubtful that the death rate would be any where near that high today.
However, the severe complication and death rate from the vaccine might well
be at least that high due to the vast number of immunosuppressed people in
our country as I mentioned earlier.
In light of all this information, it was disheartening and alarming to hear
the prepared answers read by the organizations in attendance. Each person
that commented was required to state their name and the organization that
they represented when they read their prepared 5 minute statement. The
overwhelming response by the organizations, with the exception of my
comments, can be summarized as follows:

Was anyone listening? It appears that the "public" is willing to ignore the
facts that the CDC presented and go further than was really warranted.
What is the "real agenda" of the CDC? Why were these meetings held, given the
fact that the CDC has never been interested in what the public has to say
about their policies? Over the next few weeks and months, the rest of the
story will undoubtedly unfold.
What You Can Do
I want to personally thank all of you who called and who emailed me with
letters of support and concern after reading my press releases on Mercola.com
and Rense.com or hearing me on the radio with Joyce Riley or with Bill
Boshears. Your kind words and thoughts were very much appreciated and I will
continue to do my very best to keep you updated and informed as the
possibility of mandatory smallpox vaccination draws near.
While the possibility of mandatory vaccination is the "bad news", the good
news is that most of the letters I received asked, "What can I do to help?"
In fact this is not just good news, it is great news, as time is short and we
need America to wake up and do it fast! To protect ourselves from those who
would "protect" us by denying us our most basic rights, we will need to be
aware and willing to act. Everyone one of us -- and everyone one of our
friends and family members MUST become aware of the critical juncture at
which we now stand and get involved.
In spite of the fact that, by the CDC's own admission, mass vaccination is
not necessarily the answer, the Patriot Act and The Model State Emergency
Health Powers Act have laid the groundwork for it. (To view the full text of
these documents, go to www.libertyandfreedom.com.) Thinking "this could never
happen here!" will not protect you. The only chance that we have to protect
our disappearing rights is to GET INVOLVED.
Here are my recommendations:
A. Go to the CDC website and www.cdc.gov and answer the questions. Time is of
the essence, as they are only accepting comments until JUNE 12, 2002. To
answer the questions, a clarification is necessary. The questions are wordy
and can be confusing. In simple terms, this is what the CDC is asking:

Now that you can understand the questions that they are asking, you can give
a response that most represents your understanding of the situation and how
you feel best meets your needs and those of your family. This is how I
responded:

B. Focus on education. The real war has become an information war; it is
being fought now! Inform your state and federal (congressional) leaders of
your position. Let them know the level to which you will resist, if that is
what you are planning to do. Inform and educate political leaders, City
Counsel members, school board members, local charities and your police and
fire departments.
Have a family and neighborhood meeting. Know in advance what your response is
going to be. Most importantly, share this information with everyone that you
know.
C. Increase your stores of food and bottled water in case a quarantine
situation arises. Purchase a filtered mask for each person in your family
that is NIOSH approved with an N95+ rating. Most importantly, have the mask
appropriately fitted for each person and keep it in an accessible place.
D. Grow and/or purchase organic produce for your family. Seek alternative
types of healthcare to improve your immune system and maintain or restore
your health. Create your own stock of vitamins, herbs, homeopathics. Avoid
prescription medications as much as possible.
E. Keep your immune system healthy! Avoid white (refined) sugar, white flour
and white rice. Now is the time to determine your "bowel tolerance" for
Vitamin C. The best way to do this is with powdered Vitamin C. Start with
10,000mg and increase by 5,000 mg/day until you reach a level that causes
diarrhea. That level is your bowel tolerance.
If you have an acute infection, START AT THIS LEVEL and continue to increase
to your next level of bowel tolerance. It is a well-known and established
medical fact that Vitamin C is a potent anti-viral vitamin. Keep large stocks
of this on hand in the event of any type of bioterrorism attack.
F. Become familiar with the use of Essential Oils, homeopathy, and other
herbal remedies that have been shown to be effective against viral
infections.
Dr. Tenpenny contact information:

References: document.write ( "E-mail to a friend" );E-mail to a friend
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]