Infectious Disease Blog

The U.S. government is saying sayonara to its oldest vaccine: the historic smallpox vaccine.

The CDC announced on Friday that it was dumping its 12 million doses of Dryvax, according to MSNBC.

Even though smallpox is a “dead” disease, some may ask if there will be a new vaccine.

The answer is yes. Dryvax will be replaced by a more modern vaccine

Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of Vanderbilt University’s department of preventive medicine, said the following in the article:

It is a “historical moment, because it’s our oldest vaccine,” Schaffner said. “It was a vaccine that eliminated smallpox from the United States.”

In the past, Dryvax proved to be a dangerous vaccine, allegedly triggering heart attacks and heart inflammation in some people, the article said.

Here’s some information about the previous usage of the smallpox vaccine, according to the CDC:

Routine smallpox vaccination among the American public stopped in 1972 after the disease was eradicated in the United States. Until recently, the U.S. government provided the vaccine only to a few hundred scientists and medical professionals working with smallpox and similar viruses in a research setting.

The blogger of Moments in Time discusses America’s post-9/11 fears of smallpox being used in bioterrorism:

“After the 9/11 attacks there were fears that smallpox would be used by bio-terrorists. Many emergency workers were vaccinated in case of that resulting in a painful heart inflammation for a small number. Because of the risks to the vaccine a new one has been developed called ACAM2000. It was derived from Dryvax but created in the lab. It is unclear if it will have fewer side effects than the old vaccine.”

[…] smallpox vaccine Posted in March 2nd, 2008 by in free medical consent forms Christina Zdanowicz had an interesting blog post (Sayonara, smallpox vaccine).Here’s a small excerpt:Many […]

[…] Christina Zdanowicz wrote an post worth reading today.Here’s a quick excerpt:William Schaffner, chairman of Vanderbilt University ’s department of preventive medicine, said the following in the article:. It is a “historical moment, because it’s our oldest vaccine,” Schaffner said. … […]