The Case for Voluntary Smallpox Vaccination

The former Soviet Union developed variola virus, which causes smallpox, for use as a biologic weapon, and supplies may have fallen into other hands. As Lev Sandakhchiyev, the director of Russia's Vektor Institute, has warned, “All you need is a sick fanatic to get to a populated place.”1 U.S. experts agree.2,3 The benefits of preemptive, voluntary vaccination are great. One immediate outcome is deterrence. Vaccination before exposure dramatically reduces the value of smallpox as a weapon; in the case of an attack, the number of unimmunized persons will be greatly reduced, and the outbreak will be much easier to . . .