The US smallpox vaccination program: a review of a large modern era smallpox vaccination implementation program

• Published in: Vaccine Vol. 23; no. 17; pp. 2078 - 2081
• Main Authors: Poland, Gregory A., Grabenstein, John D., Neff, John M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 18.03.2005; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Animals; Bush, George W; Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology; Cattle; Fatalities; Female; Health Personnel; Humans; Immunization; Male; Mass Vaccination - adverse effects; Mass Vaccination - methods; Military Personnel; Myocarditis - etiology; National Health Programs; Pericarditis - etiology; Pregnancy; Safety; Side effects; Smallpox; Smallpox vaccine; Smallpox Vaccine - adverse effects; Smallpox Vaccine - isolation & purification; Smallpox vaccine side effects; United States; Vaccines; United States; United States > US; Smallpox; Smallpox vaccine; Smallpox vaccine side effects
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2005.01.012

We describe the US experience with a large-scale smallpox vaccination program in the modern era and quantify the anticipated and unanticipated local and systemic side-effects of smallpox vaccination. In addition, we review unexpected issues, such as the development of myopericarditis discovered during the implementation of this program. These results constitute the largest dataset of a vaccinia vaccination program utilizing calf-lymph derived New York City Board of Health strain vaccine (Dryvax, Wyeth) since the 1970s. These results should inform current and future vaccinia vaccination programs and provide a historical rate of complications against which candidate vaccine side-effects can be compared in future clinical trials.