Hospitals across the state are gearing up to vaccinate the state’s health care workers to prevent an outbreak of smallpox as a result of a bio-terrorist attack, yet legal problems are holding up the state’s plans.

DeKalb County Health Department public health administrator Karen Grush said the largest problem that must be solved before vaccinations can begin is with worker’s compensation benefits. Normally, worker’s compensation would cover a health care worker who was to get sick as a result of the vaccine because the dose would be issued as part of his or her employment, but since the program is voluntary, several legal issues have come up.

“People are willing to get the vaccine, but they need to be covered if they get sick as a result of it,” she said.

Ten thousand doses of the smallpox vaccine were obtained by the Illinois Department of Public Health earlier this month, but they have been stockpiled until the legal problems can be sorted out.

Kishwaukee Community Hospital public relations coordinator Sharon Emmanuelson said the hospital has a plan in place to distribute the vaccine once the program begins.

“We’ve had several employees step forward as volunteers for the program,” she said.

Minimal training has begun at several sites, and county health officials have watched videos issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but no live training with the vaccine has taken place.

DeKalb County Health Department clinic manager Peg Carol said her organization is doing the paperwork and legwork to get vaccine clinics prepared to issue the vaccine once the IDPH releases the doses to county health departments.

IDPH spokesman Tom Schafer said the department hopes to begin immunizing by the end of this month, but Grush doubted DeKalb County would be able to begin the program that soon.

“We have not heard a thing about when we may be receiving the vaccine,” she said. “[IDPH] want[s] to do actual training with the vaccine before local health departments begin immunizing health care workers.”

Grush added the first training clinics and immunization programs should start in Springfield and Rockford, then spread to local agencies.