If you haven’t seriously considered how you would handle administration of smallpox vaccine to your staff, now’s a good time to start. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended that smallpox vaccinations be given to 250,000-500,000 individuals, including hospital and emergency workers. This new plan conflicts with a June 2002 recommendation from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for only 10,000-20,000 vaccinations because of concerns about the vaccine’s side effects.
White House approval awaited
At press time, the HHS plan had been sent to the White House for approval, with a final decision on the number of vaccinations expected shortly. State health officials will determine who will be offered the vaccine.
Patti Koller, RN, BSN, CEN, ED educator for Owensboro (KY) Mercy Health System, predicts that many nurses will take the smallpox vaccination if given the chance. "This was something we had discussed prior to the 9-11 incident among the staff in our facility," she says. "We have felt smallpox was a major threat to society for several years. It is such a potent virus." Koller stresses that the greatest fear in the ED is that of the unknown. "Emergency nursing is always an unknown from minute to minute," she says. "To throw in the factor of bioterrorism makes it even more uncertain for all of us trying to care for sick and dying people."
Resources
For more information about the recommendation, contact:
• Patti Koller, RN, BSN, CEN, Emergency Department, Owensboro Mercy Health System, 811 E. Parrish Ave., Owensboro, KY 42304. Telephone: (270) 688-2883. E-mail: [email protected].
For the June 20, 2002, draft supplemental recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, go to www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/index.asp. For updated information on smallpox vaccination plans, go to the National Immunization Program’s home page on smallpox at http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/index.asp.
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