Washington, D.C.
The Bush administration this week ordered state health officials to prepare to vaccinate every American if terrorists attack with smallpox. Federal agencies sent the states a guide to inoculating 1 million people per state within 10 days of a biological attack. Smallpox was eradicated 20 years ago, but it could be a devastating biological weapon. The virus spreads quickly and kills a third of its victims. “We want to be able to vaccinate quickly,” said Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But one immunology expert warned that lining up and coordinating 1.3 million volunteers to do the vaccinations could turn into a “total nightmare.”
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.
-
Home Depots are the new epicenters of ICE raidsIn the Spotlight The chain has not provided many comments on the ongoing raids
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
The pros and cons of banning cellphones in classroomsPros and cons The devices could be major distractions
