Smallpox response teams -- Department of Defense and State Department personnel -- Strengthening homeland security -- Preparing military and overseas personnel.

Friday, December 13, 2002, 16:09 EST (4:09 PM EST)

CDCHAN-00107-2002-12-13-UPD-N

Today, the President announced a plan to better protect the American people against the threat of smallpox attack by hostile groups or governments.

Under the plan, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will work with state and local governments to form volunteer Smallpox Response Teams who can provide critical services to their fellow Americans in the event of a smallpox attack.

To ensure that Smallpox Response Team s can mobilize immediately in an emergency, health care workers andother critical personnel will be asked to volunteer to receive the smallpox vaccine.

The federal government is not recommending vaccination for the general public at this time. There may be some members of the general public w ho insist on being vaccinated now. Our public health agencies will work to accommodate them, but that is not our recommendation at this time.

Health Alert Network (HAN)

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