US President George W. Bush was vaccinated for smallpox Saturday by an army medical technician to show solidarity with troops for whom the procedure is mandatory.
On Dec. 13, Bush announced that vaccination for the highly communicable virus would be mandatory for US military personnel in what are considered high-risk positions. At the same time, he said that he would also submit to the shot, which can cause lethal side effects in very rare cases, but that his family would not be vaccinated.
"It was administered in his left arm," said White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo. "The president feels fine, and there are no side effects. The president has made it clear that he was obtaining the smallpox vaccine in his position as commander in chief."
After the vaccination, Bush left for Camp David, where he will spend the Christmas holiday on Dec. 25. The day after, he plans to travel to his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
Bush announced Dec. 13 that he would order some US troops and civilians in high-risk areas to be vaccinated against smallpox and that he, as commander in chief, would also be inoculated.
Since the vaccine is expected to kill at least one out of every million recipients, Bush said his family and his staff would not be vaccinated and urged others not ordered to receive the vaccination to refrain.
The highly-contagious and deadly disease was officially declared eradicated in 1980, but Bush said enemies of the US may have stored samples.
Bush assured the US public facing possible war with Iraq and made skittish by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that their government had enough vaccine to go around in the event of a crisis.
Bush said that he was ordering 500,000 US troops in "high-risk parts of the world" and some 450,000 health-care workers to be vaccinated against smallpox as a precaution against a possible bioterrorism attack.
The smallpox virus is easily transmitted from one human to another. Once contracted, it has a 33 percent mortality rate.
Reactions to the vaccination itself include encephalitis, rashes and scarring. The vaccine would not be offered to the general public but would be given to those citizens who insist on it.
The government plans an aggressive information campaign starting next year to help the US public understand its options.
Pamphlets are being published, two Web sites are currently available and in case people still do not understand the full risks of the shot, an exhaustive interview before being inoculated with the vaccine will be mandatory.
Bush's plan means the US will become the first country to restart vaccination against smallpox, which was stamped out in 1977 and since 1980 has been deemed eradicated globally by the WHO.
Bush's wish to show solidarity with the military was treated with skepticism in some quarters, given his own military record.
Bush did his military service at the time of the Vietnam War in the National Guard of his home state of Texas.
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