Before 1970, children in the United States were commonly vaccinated against smallpox. In the early 1970s, large-scale vaccinations of children against smallpox were discontinued because smallpox had virtually disappeared from the world. Recently, some scientists have cautioned that the Unite States could be exposed to smallpox again. Contrary to what many people believe, this exposure would probably find all age-groups within the United States population at comparable levels of risk of contracting smallpox, since ______.
Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
A. smallpox is a highly communicable disease among people who are not immune to it
B. smallpox vaccine is not now widely available in the United States
C. the population of the United States has been growing more slowly since 1970 than it was before then
D. smallpox vaccinations lose their efficacy after about 20 years
E. people in the United States travel more than they did in 1970, thereby increasing the chances that an epidemic could spread