Bush Says Smallpox Vaccine Program Will Be Voluntary
ABCNews.com
Dec. 11 — The administration's smallpox program will not endorse compulsory vaccinations for all Americans, President Bush told ABCNEWS' Barbara Walters.
"The need for this government to provide the opportunity for people to protect themselves, should here be a smallpox attack," Bush told Walters in an exclusive interview airing this Friday on 20/20. "In other words, I don't think people ought to be compelled to make the decision which they think is best for their family."
First lady Laura Bush said that as far as her family was concerned, she didn't believe the risk would be high for her daughters, who grew up after smallpox vaccinations stopped being routinely administered to children in the United States.
"If, the vaccine were available, which I think it will be, I would feel like that was certainly safe for them to do. All of us [older Americans] were [vaccinated]," the first lady told Walters. "I know there's a slight risk. You know, that's what people will weigh when they make the decision whether or not to have their children vaccinated."
The president's comments to Walters summarize the administration's decision on how to structure a vaccination program, according to a White House official.
Here are the highlights of the program, which the administration will release to the public this Friday:
• All Americans will have the opportunity to choose to be vaccinated against smallpox by sometime in 2004.
• First responders and military personnel will be vaccinated first, beginning next year. There will likely be an extensive public information campaign to help Americans "digest" (as the president said) the plan and their options.
• 2004 is a key date. By that time, there will be enough newly manufactured, "licensed" smallpox vaccine to cover the entire population. Officials believe this newer vaccine is better than that in the older stocks. There are also liability issues involved.
• Older, unlicensed vaccine will not be used to inoculate anyone — except in the case of an attack. "There will be no 'pre-exposure' vaccinations using unlicensed vaccines,'" according to the White House official. That means there are enough stocks of the new vaccine to cover the first responders and military personnel next year.
Right now, if an outbreak occurred, there is enough smallpox vaccine — new and old — to cover the entire population. It's just that the administration believes the program is more effectively structured — in terms of educating the public, maximizing medical effectiveness, and limiting liability — by using the "licensed" vaccine, with the "unlicensed" as backup
Translation: The state propaganda machine will be working overtime for a while.
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