From California Healthline,
Monday, January 13th
Researchers Launch Web Site To Consider Smallpox Vaccine Risks
01/13/2003
Researchers from the University of Florida have launched a Web site
to help individuals determine the risks associated with receiving the
smallpox vaccine, the Florida Times-Union reports.
The website is:
http://ccl.ichp.edu/smallpox/
Although some of the site's information, which is based on private
research, differs from information on government sites, the site's
authors say it could help deflate public anxiety about the risks of
contracting the disease in the event of an outbreak. The site includes
six steps and a risk-calculation table for consumers to use when
deciding whether to be inoculated for smallpox in the
event of an
outbreak.
While federal officials do not oppose the Web site, they maintain that
consumers are better served by official government
sites. "Everybody
has a right to post material," Marc Wolfson, a spokesperson for HHS
Office of Emergency Preparedness, said, adding, "But the folks down at
the CDC have a pretty good track record" (
Times-Union, 1/10).