World

Obama girls vaccinated for swine flu

by smkovalinsky | October 28, 2009 at 05:44 pm

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To answer the questions and rumors regarding whether Obama's own children would be recipients of the swine flu vaccine, which is in scarce supply, the Washington Post reports that the answer is 'yes'.

After the H1N1 vaccine became available in the District of Columbia last week, First daughters Sasha and Malia Obama received the vaccination.

Both girls reportedly received the vaccinations from a White House physician.

As previously reported by The Post, all four members of the Obama family have received the seasonal flu vaccine, but the president and first lady have not yet received a shot to protect against the H1N1 flu virus, or swine flu. Only 16.5 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine have become available so far, a figure well short of public demand, leading to rationing.
"They will wait until the needs of the priority groups identified by the CDC -- including young people under the age of 24, pregnant women, and people with underlying conditions -- have been met," the first lady's press secretary, Catherine Mccormick-Lelyveld, explained on the White House blog.

"The girls' H1N1 vaccine was administered by a White House physician, who applied for and received the vaccine from the DC Department of Health using the same process as every other vaccination site in the District," she wrote.