By Kim Van Meter
March 4, 2003

MODESTO – Stanislaus County has stepped up to the plate, along with a select few other California counties, to ensure public safety in the unlikely event of bio-chemical warfare by preparing an inter-hospital response team.

The team, comprised of health care workers from five Stanislaus County hospitals, including Turlock’s Emanuel Medical Center, came together Monday to participate in a special training on how to administer the smallpox vaccine using themselves as test subjects with the bifurcated needle – though no actual vaccine was present.

The training, which included various presentations on the virus, was conducted jointly by the State Department of Health Services and Stanislaus County Health Services staff to implement phase I of a three-phase plan by March 21. Phase II, which involves vaccinations for first responders, is not currently under way. Phase III is a contingency plan for a worst-case scenario, and involves vaccinations for the general public.

“The concept of bio-defense is so different from what we are used to,” said Dr. John Walker, Public Health Officer for Stanislaus County Health Services Agency. “It is really a matter of national security.”

Walker said the training – held at the Health Services Agency offices in Modesto – was the culmination of three months of hard work on the part of all the hospitals involved, adding that all attendees participate in the training voluntarily.

Today, adults who were born after 1972 do not bear the unique puncture scar of a smallpox vaccination, as the virus was successfully eradicated from the world in 1977.

But as of last year, the federal government began vaccinating military personnel against the deadly virus, and decided it was prudent to start training personnel in the health care industry to detect the virus and administer the vaccine.

“The good news is, the risk of a smallpox outbreak is very small,” Walker explained. “The bad news is, should it happen, it would be catastrophic if we were not prepared.”

Bonnie Holtzclaw, director of education at Emanuel Medical Center, was present for the training. Holtzclaw, who has been in the health care industry for the past 12 years, said she saw the training as a good way to prepare for something the nation has been forced to deal with as a possibility.

“As a health care provider, it is helpful to know that there is a plan to follow in the event of a smallpox epidemic,” said Holtzclaw.

“California has been very proactive, but very deliberate, by working very hard to minimize the risk to the public,” said Walker, explaining further that the vaccine does not contain the actual smallpox virus, but rather cowpox, which is a much milder strain.

Reprinted by permission of the Turlock Journal.