Washington, D.C.
The Bush administration has vaccinated only 1 percent of the 500,000 doctors, nurses, and emergency workers it had planned to immunize against smallpox, health officials said this week. The plan was to vaccinate the volunteers over 30 days so they could safely respond to a terrorist attack using smallpox. But the month has ended with only 4,200 inoculations. The program “is as close to stalled as you can get,” one expert said. A half-dozen major unions and some health departments refused to participate. Skeptics said the risk of attack was too low to justify using a vaccine that can have serious side effects. The slow start alarmed some experts. “We’re advertising loudly this is one threat we’re not ready to deal with,” said Edward Kaplan, a Yale University professor.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Today's political cartoons - October 5, 2024Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - gathering funds, juggling tariffs, and more
-
5 category 5 cartoons about hurricane HeleneArtists take on precarious conditions, planning ahead, and more
-
Wolfs: 'comedy thriller' stumbles despite George Clooney and Brad PittWhile the crime caper might 'pleasingly pass a Saturday night' its star-studded duo cannot ultimately salvage it
