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.”
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.
-
Digital consent: Law targets deepfake and revenge pornFeature The Senate has passed a new bill that will make it a crime to share explicit AI-generated images of minors and adults without consent
-
Will Republicans tax the rich?Today's Big Question Trump is waffling on the possibility of taxing wealthy earners
-
Slovenia is ready for its moment in the travel spotlightThe Week Recommends Mountains, lakes, caves and coastline await
