I don't like the idea of 100 or 1000 suicide smallpox carriers coming here for vacation.

I think that I have been vaccinated for smallpox.  I can't remember for sure so I am checking.  Question is, how long is that good for?

I don't want to end up like this guy:
[img]http://www.seercom.com/bluto/smallpox/images/mort.adult.jpeg[/img]

Also, what vaccination give you the circular scar?

And, how can I get vaccinated again for smallpox?  I have read that it isn't available to the general public, anymore.  That's comforting.

It's good for about 10 years.
They don't have enough for everyone, but they DO have enough to contain and stop an outbreak.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the vaccine doesn't do anything for you if you already have smallpox.  Therefore, knowing that an outbreak can be contained is again, not too comforting.

And what if it is 10 outbreaks in different cities?  Or 20, 30...

NOT TRUE.
The vaccine DOES stop the infection (this is a fact).
Relax.
Be vigilent.

I saw an interview on CNN last week and the doctor they were interviewing said that the vac was good for 20 years.

BKVic

Apparently up to 20 years, and it is the one that gives you the circular scar on the upper arm.

According to the ANSER institute we do not have enough vaccine on hand to contain an outbreak, even if we had it, it would still be very hard to contain due to the highly mobil society that we live in. [url]www.homelandsecurity.org[/url]
Look for "Dark Winter Final Script".

Major-Murphy,
I am not trying to bust your chops in any way, but the stuff that I have read doesn't support what you are saying.

For instance, from WebMD:

"Smallpox is a highly contagious virus that can be spread through the air and infects 30% of the people who are exposed to it. Once infected, there is no cure. None of our current antiviral medications is effective. Smallpox can spread from person to person and through infected blankets, linens, and clothing.


Experts consider it a likely weapon of choice for use in a bioterrorist attack.


Symptoms don't start until about 12 days after exposure to the virus. At first, it's like the flu -- causing an under-the-weather feeling of fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, and backache. Then, severe abdominal pain and disorientation can set in, as small, round sores erupt all over the skin. About 30% of people who become infected will die, and survivors can be left with permanent scars.


Of course, vaccination can prevent smallpox infection. But the World Health Organization's worldwide vaccination campaign, begun in 1967, came to an end in 1980 when the disease was officially declared "eradicated." Here in the U.S., where smallpox was stamped out even earlier, childhood vaccination ceased in 1972.


There are only two official repositories of smallpox virus in the world: the CDC in Atlanta and the Russian State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology in Koltsovo, Novosibirsk. Those supplies are used for scientific research and vaccine development.


These two sources, however, are not the only stashes of the deadly virus. The same year that worldwide vaccination ceased, the Soviet government began growing and stockpiling large quantities of smallpox virus, specially adapted for use in bombs and missiles.


Even before Sept. 11th, interest was rising in how prepared we are to face a bioterrorism attack. And now that the "unthinkable" has happened, bolstering our smallpox vaccine supply has become a priority. There are currently about 50 million vaccine doses worldwide -- with 5 million to 7 million here in the U.S. Experts say that even with an all-out manufacturing effort, it would take at least three years before there was sufficient supply to prevent an epidemic.

Medically Reviewed
By Michael  Smith, MD"

Do you have something that you can point me to that discusses the use of the vaccine to treat a small pox infection.

By the way, I am not panicking, I want to know the facts.

20 years would put most everyone out of the range of protection since we stopped vaccinating for smallpox in 1972/1973, in the United States.

According to some senator on CNN the other night we have 15 million doses on hand with another 40 million ordered by the gov't deliverable in 2004.

CIB,
Thanks for the link.  "Dark WInter" doesn't make me feel better about smallpox, that's for sure.  Interesting the people that were involved in the simulation.  Wanna bet they all have new smallpox vaccinations?

I think I need a phone number for a Tijuana doctor.  If you can go down to Mexico to get a Trebi?? (hole drilled in your head), then getting a smallpox vaccination should be no problem.

If you were in the military you were most likley vaccinated. I was in 1985.

Vaccination shot is good for only 10 years.

Willy_,

You seem to have all the info you need.
Even scary images.
Why ask questions when you apparently think you already have the answers?
Good luck in your quest.
Stay Healthy.




(By the way, I was innoculated in '93 against Small Pox, Anthrax and Plague [:P])

Yeah, there were some big names associated with that exercise.  I can't take the credit for finding that particuler site someone else here posted a week or so ago, though I don't remember who.  Hey, Major look up my thread "How long does a vaccination last", apparently the Anthrax vaccine does'nt last long.  I wonder how long the Bubonic plague vaccines are good for?
[url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?id=60677[/url]

Like I said, "about ten years".

That's not long.
Then again, an ounce of prevention......

Head for the hills!!! [:D]

Hell, I'm already in the hills!

Major-Murphy,
Sorry that you took it the wrong way, but all I asked for was some sort of documentation to support your statement that smallpox vaccine is effective as a treatment for smallpox.  If it does, it would be the first vaccine that I know of that is capable of treating a disease.  From my knowledge, vaccines prevent diseases, not treat them.  I don't see the advantage of introducing a weakened virus into an individual that already has the full blown virus.  But I could be completely wrong.  You may be an extremely credible source of information, but then again you may be just some guy that like to be called major.  

My questions were; how long the vaccine was good for, how could I get vaccinated again, and is it the vaccination that gives you the circular scar?  I never asked the question "Is the smallpox vaccine a treatment for smallpox?"  You stated that it not only is but it is a fact and since it goes against what I have read, I was hoping you would be able to educate me a little.

Are you privy to some information that the CDC isn't releasing?