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Gov’t launches smallpox Web site

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today invited all persons with questions about smallpox and the President’s vaccination plan to visit www.smallpox.gov for comprehensive and up-to-the-minute information. “This is a complicated issue that involves a careful balance between the possibility that smallpox might actually be released at some time by terrorists, and the known risks that are associated with the vaccine itself,” Secretary Thompson said. “I know from my own experience that this issue is complex and difficult, and we need to have answers easily available.”From the Health and Human Services:HHS LAUNCHES SMALLPOX WEBSITE
Comprehensive Smallpox Information Available at “www.smallpox.gov”

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today invited all persons with questions about smallpox and the President’s vaccination plan to visit www.smallpox.gov for comprehensive and up-to-the-minute information.

“This is a complicated issue that involves a careful balance between the possibility that smallpox might actually be released at some time by terrorists, and the known risks that are associated with the vaccine itself,” Secretary Thompson said. “I know from my own experience that this issue is complex and difficult, and we need to have answers easily available.”

Those who will be recommended for vaccination will want to study the issue, Secretary Thompson said, and other Americans with questions about the disease and the vaccine will also need the best information available.

“Our new website, www.smallpox.gov, is an effort to give every person the information he or she needs, from basic facts to fine detail — understandably and comprehensively,” Secretary Thompson said. “The issue is complicated, but the place for information is easy to remember: smallpox dot gov.”


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