Smallpox (Hansard, 27 March 2003)

§ Mr. Hutton

The written ministerial statement of 2 December 2002,Official Report, column 63WS, set out our intention to vaccinate around 350 health care staff across the United Kingdom. This programme has commenced. Those vaccinated will form regional smallpox response groups around the UK. They will consist of infectious disease physicians and paediatricians, public health physicians, microbiologists/ virologists, acute care and communicable disease control nurses and occupational health staff.

Service personnel to be vaccinated against smallpox will include those nuclear, biological and chemical specialists and specialist medical personnel who would form the spearhead of our armed forces' defensive response, including vaccination teams, in the event of a confirmed, suspected or threatened release of smallpox. Vaccination of these service personnel has commenced. Where immunisation is not routine, it is not our practice to go into precise details of counter-biological warfare immunisation programmes for the armed forces as this information could be of use to an aggressor.

Currently, there is no evidence of a specific threat of the deliberate release of smallpox as a biological agent. There is no plan to vaccinate civil servants, Ministers or other public service personnel.

As set out in the "Interim Guidelines for Smallpox Response and management in the Post Eradication Era", available on the Department's website www.doh.gov.uk/epcuicbr/biol/smallpoxplan.htm, if the threat level increases, we shall step up vaccination of more emergency, laboratory and other essential personnel. This includes all those likely to be directly involved in the assessment, management and investigation of smallpox cases as well as emergency and other key essential staff, including police and fire service personnel. Officials are consulting with other Government Departments about which other key essential workers should be vaccinated at different threat levels.