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Home › Articles › Medication Issues › Smallpox Vaccinations

Smallpox Vaccinations

What Parents Need to Know

By Heather V. Long

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smallpox is a viral infection that was eliminated from the world in 1977 caused by the variola virus.

Routine vaccination against smallpox ended in 1972. The smallpox vaccine helps the body develop immunity to smallpox. The vaccine is made from a virus called vaccinia, which is a "pox"-type virus related to smallpox. The smallpox vaccine contains the "live" vaccinia virus, not the dead virus like many other vaccines. For that reason, the vaccination site must be cared for carefully to prevent the virus from spreading. Also, the vaccine can have side effects. It does not contain the smallpox virus, however, and cannot give someone smallpox.

"Most people won't suffer from side effects from the vaccination," says Dr. Septimus. "I think there has been a slight exaggeration. Some common effects of the vaccine are fever, soreness, fatigue and a slight swelling of the lymph nodes. Those who have been previously immunized will probably show less effect."

What Are the Serious Side Effects?
"There is a rare form of postvaccinal encephalitis," says Dr. Septimus. "For a first-time vaccinee, the chances of developing this are one in a million. For a repeat vaccinee, the chances are .1 in a million. Another serious side effect is progressive vaccinia, which is a disease in the surrounding tissue at the vaccination site. Eczema vaccinatum is a life-threatening complication with it spreading to the areas affected by the skin condition. However, there are treatments."

Dr. Septimus says that the Vaccinea Immune Globulin is available for those individuals who develop serious complications (progressive vaccinia or eczema), and there is also an experimental drug that is available to treat the virus, which at least in the lab, has proven to be very good against smallpox and complications from the vaccination.

"Essentially, this program is a pre-event program to protect those who might be a first response and involved in a bio-terrorism event, and the process tries to screen out anyone who might show contra-indications, that is to say, someone more prone to showing a serious side effect," says Dr. Septimus

Who Shouldn't Get the Vaccine?

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