Under a new stipulation in the Bush Administration's homeland security bill, which is in position to be approved this week, health-care workers will not be liable for injury or death that may and most likely will occur if the United States chooses to publicly administer the controversial smallpox vaccine. As part of the provision, the Federal government, not wanting health officials to have reservations about administering the vaccine in the case of an emergency, will defend any lawsuits that may be filed if someone is killed or injured after inoculation and pay damages if they are awarded to plaintiffs. President Bush is still deciding who should receive the vaccine and how quickly to administer it.

Although routine vaccinations ended in the United States in 1972 and the disease was declared eradicated from the earth in 1980, the U.S. government fears terrorist organizations or hostile countries such as Iraq may have stockpiled samples of the smallpox virus. Because the smallpox vaccine is so dangerous (it is made with a live virus, vaccinia, that can cause serious injury to those who come in close contact), health officials have determined that one or two people will die for every million vaccinated if the nation is required to administer it.