December 21, 2009 6:19 PM

President And First Lady Get H1N1 Shots

By
Mark Knoller
Topics
Domestic Issues
(AP/CBS)
Declaring that the H1N1 vaccine is safe, President Obama says he and the First Lady got their swine flu shots on Sunday.

If it wasn't safe, he said he would not have allowed daughters Sasha and Malia, "the two people that are most important in my life," to get the vaccinations for H1N1 several months ago.

"Now there's enough vaccine so that adults should get it as well," the president said in an Oval Office interview today with April Ryan of the American Urban Radio Networks.

In fact, he urged senior citizens to make sure they get vaccinated against both seasonal flu and H1N1. "The seasonal flu is still deadly," he said, "particularly for older Americans."

On the movement of health care legislation, Mr. Obama admitted he was up at 1:00 o'clock this morning when the Senate voted to pre-empt a filibuster on its latest version of the health care bill.

"I was up because I wanted to make sure that I was watching what could end up being a historic moment," he said. "I think people need to understand just how significant this is."

"We've got 30 million people who are going to get health insurance because of this bill," said the president.

The Senate measure does not contain a public option for a government-run health care coverage alternative to private insurance, but Mr. Obama isn't troubled by it.

"As a practical matter, this is not the most important aspect to this bill," he said. Overall, he said, there's just five percent difference between the House and Senate versions.

A final vote on the Senate bill is scheduled for Christmas Eve, but that is far from final passage of health care legislation. Then both measures must be reconciled into a single compromise measure and returned to each chamber for final votes.

In her interview, Ryan asked Mr. Obama about growing dissatisfaction with his performance in the black community.

"Of course there's grumbling," said the first African-American president. "We just went through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. But if you look at the polling in the African-American community, there's overwhelming support for what we've tried to do."

Mr. Obama soon takes his family for its annual Christmas holiday in Hawaii, and Ryan asked him about his penchant for body surfing.

"The Secret Service these days does not like me doing it." He said his bodyguards put a bunch of people out on jet skis. He said they surround him with all kinds of stuff and it's a little distracting for the other swimmers. Nevertheless, he said body surfing is "a wonderful thing to do."

"I don't know if I'll get out there this year, but I tell you what, I will definitely be enjoying some sun," he said.

Update Dec. 22, at 9:30 a.m. ET: The White House has released a picture of Mr. Obama receiving the shot, which you can see below:

(CBS)




(CBS)
Mark Knoller is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here. You can also follow him on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/markknoller.

Add a Comment
by patrons99 December 29, 2009 11:49 AM EST
Here is the link to a recent OpEdNews article on December 24, 2009, titled _The Council of Foreign Relations Enters the Vaccine Biz_, by Richard Gale. Regardless of the position you take on the subject, this article addresses one of the most important public health issues we face today.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Council-of-Foreign-Rel-by-Richard-Gale-091223-162.html
Reply to this comment
by patrons99 December 27, 2009 11:23 AM EST
Here is the link to a December 17, 2009, New York Times article by Gardiner Harris, titled Advisers on Vaccines Often Have Conflicts, Report Says:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/health/policy/18cdc.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

Mr Harris is on the right track: just follow the money. There is a revolving door policy between Big Pharma and CDC (and FDA). CDCs (and WHOs) recommendations on mass vaccination programs cannot be trusted because they are bought and paid for by Big Pharma who has an enormous vested interest in global healthcare policy. We have lost control over our lives to people that, frankly, do not have our best interests at heart.
Reply to this comment
by patrons99 December 27, 2009 9:52 AM EST
Please, Mr. President, don?t force us to accept your mass vaccination agenda. Let every citizen make their own informed choice. Serious questions as to both safety and efficacy of H1N1 vaccines remain. According to a December 18, 2009, New York Times article by Gardiner Harris, ?Advisers on Vaccines Often Have Conflicts, Report Says?.
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by Dbravo87 December 27, 2009 6:26 AM EST
Dude whats up with his neck? His right ear is really low. Does he have BOTH arms hunched? His head looks to big for his body and his neck seems like its not even there. Not saying the picture is fake but he sure looks strange.
Reply to this comment
by jasonkva December 22, 2009 4:45 PM EST
stn_sage... are you serious? you're looking at a photo of the president getting a shot and you think it's conspiracy? What's the agenda? what's the secret motive. Pretty pathetic state of affairs that you can't even believe something as benign as a flu shot.
Reply to this comment
by retm-w December 21, 2009 8:29 PM EST
This is news, CBS is really hurting for stories.
Reply to this comment
by stn_sage December 21, 2009 8:29 PM EST
What a bunch of phony pish-posh!

There was an article in late Oct-early Nov that did an interview with Mr. and Mrs. Obama on the swine flu shot!

They said at that time, that he couldn't get it, because being the president, they couldn't risk something happening to him as a result of the shot! And, the little girls weren't going to get it because the one girl tended to 'react' to shots, so logically they didn't want to take a chance that she'd get ill from it!

Now...all of a sudden...both girls got the shot months ago? Baloney.
And, he and his wife just got them this past weekend? Baloney.

They MIGHT have gotten a shot...probably sugar and water...but NOT swine flu! But, if so, why did they WAIT SO LONG to do it?

I simply don't believe this sorry excuse for a president!
Reply to this comment
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