VACCINE SAFETY DOCUMENT TOP Q: Why are we planning to vaccinate certain health care professionals before there is a known case of smallpox?
Smallpox vaccination before a confirmed smallpox case or outbreak provides health care and public health response teams personal protection from smallpox disease. It thus enables them to rapidly take actions necessary to protect the public, which includes identifying people who need to be vaccinated to control the outbreak as well as establishing public vaccination clinics.