There has been a smallpox vaccine study going on in plasma centers across the U.S. One of the main companys behind it, based in Canada, is called Cangene. They have a web site in which they are actively recruiting volunteers for studies involving smallpox, botulism, and anthrax, among other things. When I stumbled across this going on at a plasma center here in Albuquerque, less than a week after I started asking questions about it, the plasma center people claimed that the study was over. I called the local office of the Health Department about the study and they seemed genuinely mystified by my story. I have received a royal run around from The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, and the FDA was no help. I have taken the story to two newspapers, one of which I write for, and several television stations. Nobody seems willing to touch it. I’ve done some research, and, even as a layperson, there seem to be a lot of complexities here. The virus for smallpox is a live virus called vaccinia, from which the word vaccine is derived. Vaccinia is actually a weakened strain of cowpox. There can be side effects, it can be contagious, and, in particular, people with suppressed immunity, such as those with HIV, can die from vaccinia. Add to this the fact that HIV did not exist, that we know of, when we stopped routine vaccination in 1972, and the fact that this study is being carried out on an outpatient basis through plasma centers, and I would really like to see this brought to light. It all relates to the fact that Bush may inoculate everyone in the U.S. for smallpox. Any input is appreciated! (Is this not allowed to be reported on, or what?)
Um, what?
What exactly are you going for here? Are you asking why this study is being done? Looking for evidence that it did, in fact, occur? Searching for evidence that this is a conspiracy to help the alien invaders create human/alien hybrid clones? Clue us in here.
Well, maybe it was - maybe you heard about it late and it had already been complete by that time and the Cangene website is out of date?
What brought to light? That the vaccine can have side effects or even kill? This isn’t news. Nasty icky pictures of what vaccinia can do when the vaccine goes wrong are available on the web - try Google. I’d post a direct link, but recently it has come to my attention that what I consider OK to view differs from the opinion of some of the mods so I’m trying to behave.
Only if there’s an actual outbreak. There was never an intention to innoculate everyone with no direct threat, just the “first responders” and medical personnel. Even there, folks with a history of eczema, among other conditions, would be exempt due to risk of side effects. Even that effort is largely abandoned - too many medical types said “no” to the vaccine and the administration didn’t have the motivation to force people.
Maybe there isn’t a story here… what, exactly, are you trying to say here? That there’s some sort of conspiracy?
Now, advertising at plasma centers might have a entirely humanitarian motivation. Treatment of vaccine side-effects is accomplished through use of a substance derieved from the plasma of people who have been recently vaccinated successfully. The supply of that medicine was extremely low when the Bush administration started plans for large-scale vaccinations… thus, a certain number of people who had been recently vaccinated were recruited to donate plasma and build up the stocks of this stuff again. If they have all they feel they need, and the vaccination program is largely stalled, they may have stopped this part of the program as well.