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A comment on Ask HN: What other low-probability high-impact events are we ignoring?. Parent comment

Re:Ask HN: What other low-probability high-impact events are... by dkasper on Tuesday June 15, 2010 @05:27PM (#1433936)
Funny, last night I watched a West Wing episode where they mention the possibility of a smallpox outbreak. Is it still true that there are just a handful of smallpox vaccines on hand in the US?
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Re:Ask HN: What other low-probability high-impact events are... by run4yourlives on Tuesday June 15, 2010 @06:24PM (#1434045)
Vaccines don't have a shelf life of forever, and storing components to defeat a disease that no longer exists beyond a few petri dishes in a military lab isn't really efficient.

Odds are there is barely any.

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Re:Ask HN: What other low-probability high-impact events are... by Daniel_Newby on Tuesday June 15, 2010 @06:26PM (#1434050)
There is not remotely enough vaccine to handle a smallpox attack.

EDIT: Apparently the U.S. has rather a lot stockpiled, but good luck getting any in advance of the end of the world.

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