Obama girls’ vaccine: Favoritism or good example?
By LINDSEY TANNER Associated Press
Oct. 29, 2009, 2:49PM

With Dad a world leader and Nobel Prize winner, Malia and Sasha Obama surely could have been first in line when vaccinations began for swine flu.

They weren’t, the White House says.

But that hasn’t stopped complaints that President Barack Obama’s daughters got preferential treatment.

“You definitely think there’s some favoritism going on,” said Vernon Stanley, who stood for hours in the snow Tuesday to get his 6-year-old granddaughter vaccinated near Salt Lake City.

Snarky comments began popping up on blogs and other online sites after Tuesday’s announcement that the Obama girls got vaccinated by the White House doctor last week.

“We have two very compromised special needs children in our home” but can’t find any vaccine, Walter Ponfick of New Braunfels said in comments posted on a Fox News blog. “Makes me think just the important population is able to be taken care of.”

Many doctors and public health experts have a different take.

For one thing, children are one of the high-risk groups the government says should get swine flu vaccine first. Even then, the Obama girls weren’t rushed to the head of the line. They got their vaccine at least two weeks after the first Americans received their shots and, according to Michelle Obama’s spokeswoman, only after vaccine became available to other Washington schoolchildren. And no vaccine shortages have been reported in Washington’s schools.

Announcing that the girls have been vaccinated “is a great example for all families,” said Dr. Judith Palfrey, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “It’s an important statement about how important vaccines are.”

Emory University vaccine expert Saad Omer said his research has shown that parents are likely to support immunization if they learn that their doctors have vaccinated their own children. The Obamas’ decision could be just as influential, he said.

Dr. Mark Dworkin, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Illinois at Chicago, agreed. And he suggested there is good reason to give preferential treatment to the presidential daughters, 11-year-old Malia and 8-year-old Sasha.

“If his children get sick with a high fever, that’s very distracting for any parent, and we all want his attention focused on all the issues before him,” Dworkin said. Also, if Malia and Sasha were to get the flu, their father could catch it from them.

“That’s a guy I don’t want to see out sick,” Dworkin said.

The president and Michelle Obama are waiting until priority groups are innoculated to get their own swine flu shots, the White House says. Besides children, who have been hard-hit by the swine flu, these include pregnant women and people with chronic health problems.

The government initially said as many as 120 million vaccine doses could be available by mid-October, but because of production delays, only about 25 million had come through as of Thursday. As a result, thousands of ordinary citizens and their children have had to wait in line for shots, sometimes only to find that supplies ran out.

Despite the shortage, Jena McNeill, a homeland security analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said the Obama girls’ getting shots “is a non-issue.”

“This falls right in line with what they should be doing,” she said.

Walter Ponfick, the disgruntled Texan who complained to Fox News, called The Associated Press late Wednesday with an update: His kids’ doctor had received a supply of vaccine earlier in the day.

“We loaded the two kids up, rushed into San Antonio, and got their shots,” Ponfick said. “I still am kind of upset by the situation, but sometimes God works in mysterious ways.”

I can remember vaguely bush being grilled about why his daughters werent fighting in Iraq etc, I dont have citation for this but im sure it happened. Now below is a curious little news item, didnt make it to the lead story of most news casts (wonder why?) I wonder if Bush's kids had gotten swine flu vaccine, before most others had access to it (My son has to wait, yours?) if it would have been lead story. What do you think? (be honest, especially my liberal friends )



Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/6693105.html

Now I concede the whole DC school system angle, I did read the article but the point is "what if bush had done that?"

Obama is getting more kid glove treatment with this one, but for argument sake, by all means pick the early part of Bush's presidency as your comparative.

I'm confused: what exactly has he done wrong?

Obama gave his kids H1N1 Vaccine? THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!!! IMPEACH!

Seriously, that is stupid.

1) Kids are on most priority lists.
2) Both the President and First lady are NOT getting it until there is more available.
3) Are you SERIOUSLY advocating the Obama's use their children's health as a political tactic?
4) If anyone attacked Bush for doing the same thing, it would be equally moronic.
5) Don't compare giving children a flu vaccine to starting a war in the wrong country.
6) My kids don't get secret service protection! Favoritism!

Are you SERIOUSLY advocating the Obama's use their children's health as a political tactic?

Did you read the post or are you posting to look cool?

I asked a specific question, so far only vlad has answered it.

Expected of course, I mean ignorance and lack of comprehension is expected here from the liberal wing (for the most part)

yeah dude Im I totally said that and think that, if you cant answer the question just say so.

next genius please step up !

I asked a specific question, so far only vlad has answered it.

Yes, you did ask a specific question. A couple, actually.

if it would have been lead story. What do you think?
I made that clear. It WOULDN'T be a lead story, because it is a non-story. Also it is stupid to try and make a story OUT of it.

Now I concede the whole DC school system angle, I did read the article but the point is "what if bush had done that?"
If Bush had done that, it would STILL be a non-story.

Obama is getting more kid glove treatment with this one
Not a question, but an implication: If George W. Bush had gotten HIS kids the vaccine, there would be outrage in the MSM. But there wouldn't because it is a NON STORY.

Was there some reason you even posted this, or were you doing it to look cool?

“You definitely think there’s some favoritism going on,” said Vernon Stanley, who stood for hours in the snow Tuesday to get his 6-year-old granddaughter vaccinated near Salt Lake City.

apparently if there's a nuclear attack, Barack Obama's wife and family would be taken to a bunker in a secure location, while your kids would just be left to die. Not just that, but OBAMA HIMSELF would be given a place in one of these bunkers. This is rank favoritism of the worst kind, if Bush had done anything APPROACHING this there would be a huge outcry.

Thorgrum raises a good point. If Bush had done this, would anyone have given a !@#$?

Here is what's funny. Bush's daughters, iirc, had somewhat serious legal issues (alcohol related), and while it was covered, it wasn't turned into a dig on Bush. I'd say Obama is getting it worse here.

"I think his kids did get the vaccine sooner due to who they are"

no they bloody didn't. As the article said they only got the vaccine when other Washington schoolchildren did

"I think his kids did get the vaccine sooner due to who they are"

no they bloody didn't. As the article said they only got the vaccine when other Washington schoolchildren did

and frankly what would be the problem if they did, I can see major sense in vaccinating all those around the president and him as well first.

Who said he did anything wrong?

Did you read the op or just post to look cool?

next

Why do the Obama kids need the government's mind control drug? You'd think they'd already support their father's radical communist agenda.

I got vaccinated before the Obama girls.

I am a horrible person.

and maybe the obama kids got the vaccine when it just came out...

no, they got it when other DC area kids did. Read the story.

you never know...

if we're using "you never know" as the standard, can I go around saying maybe Orrin Hatch killed a male prostitute in a hotel room in 1996? I mean, there's as much proof for that as there is for the Obama children getting flu vaccine early.

if we're using "you never know" as the standard, can I go around saying maybe Orrin Hatch killed a male prostitute in a hotel room in 1996? I mean, there's as much proof for that as there is for the Obama children getting flu vaccine early.

you never know...

yes, but you never can completely say that you the Obama's didn't get one of the first vaccines...

yes, but you never can completely say that you the Obama's didn't get one of the first vaccines...

Lamuella I think you are really Obama and you are here trying to reprogram us into kenyan socialists.


I mean... You never know!

It's true, I wish to convince the world of the teachings of Julius Nyerere.

you know who worked for Google?

Al Gore.

Think about it.