White House

About the author: The White House issues information from the executive branch of the U.S. government.

The federal government's smallpox vaccination program is proposing to vaccinate only health care workers and other "first responders," such as police and firefighters, who might make up response teams who would treat others in the event of a bioterrorist attack using smallpox. The government will monitor and attempt to minimize side effects, but because severe reactions are likely to occur in a small number of people, preattack vaccination for the public as a whole is not recommended. Nonetheless, vaccine will be made available to those who insist on being vaccinated.

Why vaccinate health care workers and first responders?

We're asking these groups to volunteer to serve on smallpox response teams to help our...