Obama's Swine Flu Shot Dilemma

(AP/CBS)

The president is what would is called a "key employee" in corporate America. While his compensation isn't other worldly ($400,000 per year), his influence in the world order is immense. If he were to become ill or incapacitated, the country and the connected planet would be destabilized to some degree.

CBSNews.com Special Report: H1N1

Therefore, protecting the president against natural and unnatural threats to his wellbeing is a very high priority. Apparently, that priority doesn't include getting vaccinated as soon as possible against the H1N1 flu virus.

The logic offered by the White House is that as a healthy adult with no underlying conditions, Mr. Obama doesn't fall into a priority group designated to receive the H1N1 flu vaccination at this time. He received the plain-old flu shot earlier this month, but will wait until the H1N1 flu vaccine is available to the general population before he gets the promised immunity given by the vaccine.

Given the issues around supply and demand for the vaccine, determining what constitutes "general availability" to the U.S. population will be an interesting call.

Mr. Obama is being rational by calculating the risk of his getting infected with the H1N1 virus and suffering a bad or even fatal case of the flu to be very unlikely. He is also exercising his political correctness in hold off on getting himself vaccinated, as if he were the general population.

But while he tries to be a "man of the people," the president is not the general population. This is a person who drives around in Cadillac tank; is surrounded by hardened Secret Service agents; has two jumbo jets and a fleet of helicopters for his frequent travels around the globe; and even has his own secret underground bunker command center in case of threats to national security, such as the attacks on 9/11.

What's your take? Take our poll and answer in the comments below.

Pop Question

Should President Obama get the H1N1 vaccination now or wait until after other "priority groups"?
He Should Get It Now
He Should Wait

Daniel Farber is editor-in-chief of CBSNews.com.

3 Comments Have Your Say
Email Story Send to a Friend
Share This Tell Your Friends
Tweet This Tweet This
More Share It

Add a Comment


by olsterman November 24, 2009 8:45 AM EST: there are too many gramatical errors to understand what the reporter is trying to say.; Reply to this comment


by drdavid hill October 31, 2009 7:23 PM EDT: SWINE FLU - Is this the start that we all dread

With the sudden increase in just the last 7-days of over 700 deaths worldwide from swine flu, are we at the start of something really serious it has to be asked?

For one thing is a certainty according to Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, a highly virulent killer stain of swine flu/bird flu will emerge eventually. In this respect it has 100% probability based upon the past and whether it arrives this year, in the next decade or over the next 50-years, it will in due course come to pass. But it has to be stated that the drugs strategy is totally flawed and will not save 100s of millions (maybe in fact over a billion lives lost) from their eventual deaths worldwide. For the timing of the drug?s strategy is far too long from the creation of an effective vaccine to manufacture, distribution and inoculation ? some 9-18 months even in rich western economies. In this respect the Spanish Flu (a variant of Swine Flu) killed between 20 million and 100 million people in 1917/18 and did its lethal worst between weeks 16 and weeks 24. If you do not believe me, just look at the present situation where it has already taken over 6 months to isolate, create a vaccine, manufacture limited supplies for only 10% of the total requirement, sparsely distribute and with limited inoculation of people numbers. Indeed, according to statistics and logistics, it will take a further 12-months before everyone has had the inoculation if everything runs smoothly. Therefore this 2nd test-run of the swine virus that we are just starting to go through currently should show that the drugs strategy will do very little to save us all and our loved ones when the real nightmare emerges ? a pre-runner hopefully. So if we are intelligent people and use our common sense, we should see that the only real way to defeat this killer virus is to address it at source and never let it happen in the first place. This is the thinking of some of the most eminent virologists in the world, but where the power of the mighty pharmaceutical companies, who cannot make 10s of billions out of this field strategy, are stopping this happening. Governments are brainwashed by their influence and therefore will not listen to the only definite ?cure in town?. Time will tell but where it has to be said that this is possibly now something that is not on our side, as this alternative preventative strategy that will definitely stop the killer virus in its tracks and at source, will take 5-years to implement globally. Therefore we have to start today to change from a drugs led strategy that will totally fail us all eventually, to a preventative strategy at source that will never let it happen in the first place. Common sense really, but something presently that governments do not have. The death count will be enormous.

Dr David Hill
World Innovation Foundation Charity
Bern, Switzerland; Reply to this comment


by timster799 October 28, 2009 4:58 PM EDT: Wow, I'm surprised no one has said "who cares?" I'm still amazed at the statement in the first paragraph: "...the country and the connected planet would be destabilized to some degree" if something happened to Obama. I'm betting the world wouldn't miss a beat.; Reply to this comment

Report offensive content:

E-mail this comment to a friend.

Follow Political Hotsheet

CBS This Morning