DRYVAX
VACCINE CONTRAINDICATIONS
(THESE
ARE GROUPS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT RECOMMENDED TO GET THE SMALLPOX VACCINE)
According to
the Dryvax Vaccine Package Insert (smallpox vaccine), there are many groups of
people who should not get the smallpox vaccine in non-emergency
situations. This Dryvax package insert
is available at the Food and Drug Administration website at http://www.fda.gov
by simply typing in Dryvax Vaccine Package Insert.
Groups that should not get the smallpox vaccine in
non-emergency situations, according to the package insert, include:
·
Individuals allergic to components in the vaccine
including polymyxin B sulfate, dihydrostreptomycin sulfate, chlortetracycline
hydrochloride and neomycin sulfate.
·
Infants under the age of 12 months.
·
Children under the age of 18 years.
·
Individuals of any age with eczema or a history of
eczema or other serious skin conditions.
·
Individuals on immunosouppresive drugs, or receiving
radiation or systemic corticosteroids at certain doses.
·
Individuals with immunosuppression such as leukemia,
organ transplants, lymphomas of any type, etc.).
·
Individuals with congenital or acquired deficiencies of
the immune system, such as HIV, or anyone living with such person.
·
Pregnant women or anyone living with a pregnant woman.
In a smallpox emergency the vaccine package insert
states, There are no absolute contraindications regarding vaccination of a
person with a high-risk exposure to smallpox.
This means that even if you have a contraindication they would not
recognize any of the above contraindications.
Some individuals who fall into one of those
contraindicated categories believe that the vaccine would be just as dangerous
for them in an emergency situation and would prefer to be placed in humane
quarantine or isolation.