smallpox vaccine
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small·pox vac·cine
vaccine of live vaccinia virus suspensions prepared from cutaneous vaccinial lesions of calves (calf lymph) or chick embryo origin; not currently used because of the worldwide elimination of smallpox.
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
small·pox vac·cine
(smawlpoks vak-sēn)Vaccine of live vaccinia virus suspensions prepared from cutaneous vaccinial lesions of calves (calf lymph) or chick embryo origin; not currently used because of the worldwide elimination of smallpox.
Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012
smallpox vaccine
A vaccine used to provide immunity against smallpox. The vaccine is made from live vaccinia virus (not from the smallpox virus). Similarities between the two viruses make the vaccine about 95% effective in preventing smallpox in those exposed to the virus. Smallpox vaccine was not used for many years because smallpox had been eradicated worldwide. However, concerns over the use of smallpox as a biological weapon have resulted in vaccination of persons at high risk, e.g., public health workers, health care response teams, members of the armed services. The general public is not being vaccinated. The CDC recommends that persons who could be exposed to the monkeypox virus should also be vaccinated against smallpox.
See also: vaccine
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