Fighting smallpox

last updated 8 January 2015

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.”