VigilanceVoice

NYC-CC.COM
Tuesday--September 24, 2002—Ground Zero Plus 377
___________________________________________________________
Smallpox's Clear & Present Danger  Screams For Vigilance
___________________________________________________________
by
Cliff McKenzie
   Editor, New York City Combat Correspondent News

       GROUND ZERO, New York City, September 24--I hear the Sentinels of Vigilance screaming.  They are hoarse.   They wave their arms, rattle their Swords of Vigilance, stomp their feet over Ground Zero--but their alerts fall on deaf ears.

     Tears fall from their eyes, at seven miles per hour, the same speed as a rain drop, but filled with sorrow and regret that Mothers and Fathers, Grandparents and Loved One's of Vigilance aren't storming the United States government demanding the right to voluntarily have their children vaccinated against smallpox.
        If there ever was a time for Parents of Vigilance to rise up in the face of Terrorism, now is the moment.
        One infected Terrorist coming to the United States would not be detected, neither would a hundred.   They wouldn't carry guns or bombs, but in their blood would be a virus that could easily kill 30 percent of the US population.
        And the government is holding the vaccine hostage.   It isn't being offered to the public at large, as a health preventative choice.   Instead, it is being guarded and controlled, and will be issued only in the case of an "emergency."  An "emergency," is, of course, an "after-the-fact" scenario.  It is an attempt to curb an outbreak of smallpox.  The plan for this "emergency" is in the hands of the government.
        Anyone who has ever dealt with government programs should shudder.       

        Julie Gerberding, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "If there is actually exposure and risk, we want to be able to vaccinate quickly."
        The feds released today the "Smallpox Vaccination Clinic Guide."
        The government Guide alleges up to 75 million doses of the nation's vaccine stockpile could be shipped in a single day, and 280 million doses in five to seven days.
        Now, who is gullible enough to believe the government could respond with fast, uncluttered efficiency?   Government cogs are not well oiled, and skeptics like myself would easily be right to treble the PR published response time to three days for the first 75 million and three weeks for the rest--if we're lucky.
         The Guidelines include flowcharts and checklists and the most important factor--how many security guards will be needed for each clinic to contain an unruly crowd.

         Terrorism feeds on Fear, Intimidation and Complacency.   It seeks to strike white-hot fear into the souls of those its shadow falls upon.    Imagine what a clinic would be like as case after case of smallpox is highlighted on MSNBC and CNN.    Would there be an organized, patient line allowing mothers and children to be first, or, would it be a free for all?
          I hate to think of such an event.  I think it would be like the Titanic.
          At Ground Zero when the buildings fell, I watched people stumbling over others, pushing, shoving to save their own lives.   I pushed three women against a wall to protect them from being trampled.    If the wealthiest of people in a society are so easily panicked, what will happen to the rest of us when we find out only a few clinics have received the vaccine, and the shipments to other clinics have been waylaid?
          Dr. Mohammed Akhter, executive director of the American Public Health Association, is lobbying to get public health workers and emergency personnel vaccinated prior to an emergency.   Incredibly, the "White House," is weighing whether to permit such vaccinations.   Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, says a decision is expected by the end of this month.
          Okay.   That's enough.
          The American public should be the first, not the last, to receive inoculations.  
          The way it is currently going, all the top officials will get the vaccination--and you can bet most have already--and then hoard it until disaster strikes.  
          That's when chaos will occur.       

          The "emergency" is already on fire.   Everyone can smell the smoke of war with Iraq.    The smallpox issue is an example of our government  playing Russian roulette with the lives of thousands--especially women and children.
         While the White House is egging on a war against Iraq on the one hand, behind its back it's clutching hold of the smallpox vaccine as though it had some preemptive right to tell America's  Parents of Vigilant when to protect their children.
           I believe it is time for the Voices of Vigilance to be heard.  
           Americans must stand up and demand the release of the vaccine for voluntary inoculations through their medical doctors.   It is more than a "right," it is a parental "duty."
           The insanity of inviting a stampede and social chaos is a scenario from of a "B"-grade disaster movie.   Anyone foolish enough to expect the government to establish, manage, and efficiently dispense equally and fairly the vaccine in a crisis situation needs to reread the Guidelines and underline the section where it calls for  "guards" to be stationed to control "unruly crowds."
            Allegedly, the government has enough vaccine for all 280 Americans, however, certain individuals would be cautioned against taking the vaccine.  AIDS patients or others with low immune systems, and individuals with eczema and other skin disorders.  
            One of the problems with reacting to smallpox is that to build immunity to it requires the body to adjust to the vaccine.    If one is exposed and then becomes vaccinated, the vaccination is useless.

         In the 70's when the vaccinations stopped and the world roared it had "beaten smallpox," my wife, a microbiologist, grumbled angrily.    She was afraid that a state of Complacency would ripple through the country and that one day--such as now--some madman would use it against a vulnerable country such as ours.    One person can infect thousands by passing it on to those who pass it on.    A Terrorist traveling from coast-to-coast by car, stopping in small towns, shaking lots of people's hands, slapping them on the back, breathing near them, could set off a panic no one could predict.
            What is predictable is Parents of Vigilance shouting to Washington--"We want the right to get vaccinated now, if we so choose--before the panic!"
           This is the time for Courage, Conviction and Right Action--not Fear, Intimidation and Complacency.   Complacency can and will kill.   No one has the right to dole out protection.   Protecting our children is not the government's job--it is the Parents of Vigilance duty.
           Act now!
           Demand your right to protect your children before, not after, the fact.