They don't want to bring back the old "cowpox" smallpox vaccines that everyone in the US born before 1972 received.
The smallpox vaccine is effective against monkeypox.
However, the scab that formed had the potential to spread cowpox.
Who knew?
Also the live vaccine has risks in immunocompromised individuals.
However, some cases of cowpox appear to be problematic. You can find a graphic image here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowpox
Cowpox disease, which is evident in cows from ulcers on the teats, had been known as a disease of cows for hundreds of years; human cowpox occurred as a self-contained localized ulcer on the hands or at other sites where scratches or abrasions allowed entry of the virus. (In other words: Sounds like cowpox was spread like herpes)
Whether we have have lifetime immunity to smallpox is debatable. A vaccinated researcher died along with two others in 1978. (UK)
However, the NYT article indicates that most of us have lifetime immunity.
I have no idea how contagious smallpox actually was, I always thought it was airborne like measles. However, cowpox was spread mostly by contact.
“Before Jenner had developed the smallpox vaccine, the number one cause of blindness in the world was smallpox,” said Mark Slifka, an immunologist at Oregon Health and Science University. Infected people are contagious until the pustules scab over and slough off, he said.
Maybe smallpox was more contagious than cowpox because lesions were all over the body?
Interesting article. Who is Protected Against Monkeypox
https://archive.ph/jb5fw#selection-703.0-703.272
In March 2007, a 2-year-old Indiana boy and his mother contracted a life-threatening vaccinia infection from the boy's father.[30] The boy developed the telltale rash over 80 percent of his body after coming into close contact with his father, who was vaccinated for smallpox before being deployed overseas by the United States Army. The United States military resumed smallpox vaccinations in 2002. The child acquired the infection due to eczema, which is a known risk factor for vaccinia infection. The boy was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin, cidofovir, and Tecovirimat (ST-246), a (then) experimental drug developed by SIGA Technologies.[31] On April 19, 2007, he was sent home with no after effects except for possible scarring of the skin.[30]
In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that a woman in Washington had contracted vaccinia virus infection after digital vaginal contact with her boyfriend, a military member who had recently been vaccinated for smallpox. The woman had a history of childhood eczema, but she had not been symptomatic as an adult. The CDC indicated that it was aware of four similar cases in the preceding 12 months of vaccinia infection after sexual contact with a recent military vaccinee.[32] Further cases—also in patients with a history of eczema—occurred in 2012.[33]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccinia
= new reply since forum marked as read
