US citizens will not be lining up for smallpox vaccinations anytime soon, despite months of news reports on the stockpiling of enough vaccine for every man, woman, and child. On June 20, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), after evaluating information provided at public forums in New York City, San Francisco, St. Louis, and San Antonio, recommended to Tommy Thompson, secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), not to vaccinate the entire population.1
"There was no compelling evidence that it would be appropriate to recommend it, given what we know about the threat level and the fact that there has been no disease since 1977," says David A. Neumann, director of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Partnership for Immunization, who served as a liaison representative to the committee.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease,2 William Bicknell, professor ...
