Bush Suffered No Adverse Reaction to Smallpox Vaccination

Monday January 06, 2003 3:53pm

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Washington (AP) - President Bush has shown no ill effects from a smallpox vaccination he received more than two weeks ago, his spokesman said Monday.

On Dec. 13, Bush directed as many as 500,000 U.S. troops to get smallpox vaccinations as part of an effort to guard against bioterrorism. He promised to get the shot himself, though he said his family would not because the risk of a domestic attack did not justify it.

He was given the inoculation on Dec. 21, before leaving the White House for a holiday respite at Camp David and at his ranch in Texas.

"The president has not had any adverse reactions," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said.

Experts estimate that 15 out of every 1 million people vaccinated for the first time will face life-threatening complications, and one or two will die. Reactions are less common for those being revaccinated, as Bush was. Normally the window in which symptoms would appear is about eight to 10 days long.

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