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January 08, 2003
INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"Kuwait, Fearing Attack, Asks for Smallpox Vaccine"
USA Today (www.usatoday.com) (01/07/03) P. 7A; Willing, Richard
Kuwaiti officials, concerned that Iraq might launch a bioterrorism attack on them as a reprisal if the U.S. military takes action against Iraq, reportedly have asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) to supply them with the smallpox vaccine. "We have had a request to the CDC for about three months to supply the needed vaccines," said Kuwait's ambassador to the United States, Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, on Monday. CDC spokesman Lleywyn Grant was unable to immediately confirm the request, but he noted that the agency's focus has been primarily on acquiring enough doses to immunize Americans. President Bush recently announced plans to offer smallpox vaccinations to up to 500,000 public health and hospital workers, and in December, a program to immunize some 500,000 U.S. military members was launched.
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