AMA does not endorse smallpox vaccine plan

On Tuesday, December 4, 2001, the 538 delegates attending the American Medical Association's annual winter meeting in San Francisco, California voted overwhelmingly to reject calls for vaccinating all Americans against smallpox in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

To their credit, many doctors were worried about the dangers associated with the smallpox vaccine. According to the anticipated number of adverse reactions, as many as 600 people could die from reactions to the vaccine and many thousands more could suffer permanent damage.

The fact that the vaccine is dangerous is unquestioned. Officials expect that one in 500,000 people will die as a direct result of taking the vaccine. Also, as many as one in 150,000 will experience severe reactions such as overwhelming infection due to the presence of the vaccine virus in individuals with weakened immune systems, encephalitis or brain infection.

Another reason the doctors cited was the fact that there is a very limited supply of smallpox virus available to be stolen and used by terrorists. Dr. Ron Davis, a member of the AMA Board of Trustees says, "We do not yet know that the bad guys have the smallpox virus. There are huge, complex issues involved and due deliberation is needed."

We would agree. Killing 600 people and causing permanent damage to thousands of others in response to the possibility of a biological attack doesn't make any sense. In any biological attack, one of the primary factors in infection rates will be the resistance (that is, immune system function) of the people exposed. Those people with properly functioning immune systems will be better off than those with malfunctioning immune systems.

Chiropractic care helps restore and maintain immune system function, allowing for a higher level of health and resistance to biological agents such as smallpox.