Fewer than 100 health care workers have been vaccinated with the smallpox vaccine

(Norman-AP) -- Smallpox vaccinations for health care workers in Oklahoma have stalled. <br><br>Fewer than 100 health care workers in the state have been vaccinated -- far from the Health Department's

Thursday, February 27th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Norman-AP) -- Smallpox vaccinations for health care workers in Oklahoma have stalled.

Fewer than 100 health care workers in the state have been vaccinated -- far from the Health Department's goal of vaccinating 13,000 people by spring.

Shawna McWaters-Khalousi of the Health Department says people are refusing the 15-prick vaccination.

She says it's a nationwide problem.

The vaccination is fatal for about one in one million people and can cause minor rashes and infections.

Health care workers are worried about the risks and whether workers' compensation would cover them if they had a bad reaction.