SEIU Local 200U

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Q: Should you volunteer to be vaccinated?

A: Let our checklist, fact sheet, and decision tree help you decide. (Acrobat Required)

APRIL 1, 2003 -- HEART RISK ALERT
The CDC Recommends Against Smallpox Vaccination for Those with Three or More Heart Risk Factors; More States Halt Program

More Caution Urged for Smallpox Program
The advisory panel overseeing the smallpox program has recommended against expanding to millions of first responders.

As reported in the Washington Post's Panel Urges Caution on Smallpox Inoculation: "'The lesson for the future is that public officials can't ignore the voice of health care workers on the front lines when they make decisions that affect them and their patients,' said Andrew L. Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union. As the nation's largest health care union, SEIU led the fight for compensation of injured workers."

GAO Recommends More CDC Guidance
In a newly-released report, Smallpox Vaccination: Implementation of National Program Faces Challenges, the General Accounting Office calls on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide more guidance to state and local health officials.

Compensation Bill Passed After Caregivers Spoke Out for Safer Program
After health care workers nationwide voiced their concerns about the administration’s plan to vaccinate millions of people against smallpox, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Smallpox Emergency Personnel Act to compensate those caregivers, their families and patients who become disabled or die as a result of the vaccine. Press Release

SEIU Response
>press releases

For Your Health
>media coverage
>related links

For Workers
    >Heart Risk Alert
    >Fact Sheet
    >Decision Tree
    >Checklist
    >FAQs

The smallpox vaccine is “probably the least safe human vaccine” today. -- Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

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