Gitmo detainees to receive swine flu vaccine
Some critics say the terror suspects should not get vaccine priority
The Associated Press
Sun., Nov . 1, 2009
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Terrorism suspects held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base will soon get swine flu vaccines, despite complaints that American civilians should have priority, a military spokesman said Sunday.
Army Maj. James Crabtree, a spokesman for the U.S. jail facility in southeast Cuba, said the doses should start arriving this month, with guards and then inmates scheduled for inoculations.
He acknowledged there may be an “emotional response” from critics who argue that terror suspects should not be allocated swine-flu medications while members of the U.S. public are still waiting due to a vaccine shortage.
But he said U.S. military officials are “responsible for the health and care of the detainee population.”
Medical personnel at Guantanamo requested the doses, but Crabtree said he did not know how many.