Smallpox I:  Bush Feels No Ill Effects From Smallpox Vaccine

U.S. President George W. Bush has suffered no side effects after receiving a smallpox vaccination Dec. 21, the White House said yesterday.  Bush announced Dec. 13 that he would receive the vaccine along with 500,000 U.S. military personnel (see GSN, Dec. 13, 2002).

“The president has not had any adverse reactions,” said White House press secretary Ari Fleischer (Associated Press/Washington Post, Jan. 7).

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Smallpox II:  Kuwait Wants Smallpox Vaccine

Kuwait has asked the United States for smallpox vaccine stocks, Kuwaiti U.S. Ambassador Salem Abdullah al-Jaber al-Sabah said yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 6).

“We have had a request to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) for about three months to supply the needed vaccines,” he said, adding, “We are still waiting to hear.”

The CDC was unable to immediately confirm the Kuwaiti request, USA Today reported today.  To date, the agency has concentrated on stockpiling enough smallpox vaccine for the U.S. population, according to spokesman Llelwyn Grant.

The request could be a sign that a conflict between Iraq and the United States is coming, USA Today reported.  War is not “inevitable” but “time is running out,” the ambassador said (Richard Willing, USA Today, Jan. 7).

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