Poll: Voters support invasion of Iraq; lukewarm on smallpox vaccination

By JENNIFER McKEE
Gazette State Bureau

HELENA - Montanans continue to give President George Bush high marks and they support one of the major elements of his foreign policy - a U.S. invasion of Iraq. But a recent Gazette State Poll shows most Montanans would not partake of another Bush initiative - the smallpox vaccination.

A poll of 625 registered Montana voters between Dec. 17-19, asking their opinions on a variety of state and national issues. Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc., conducted the poll.

On a national issues, 70 percent of those polled gave Bush either an excellent or good ranking on job approval. Nineteen percent thought the president was doing a fair job and 11 percent said they were undecided. Men showed stronger support for Bush than women, with 34 percent of men saying Bush was doing an excellent job, compared with 26 percent of the women. Almost a quarter of women - 23 percent - said they thought Bush was doing only a fair job, compared to just 15 percent of the men.

Bush's job approval rating is up slightly from the last Gazette State Poll conducted in September, when 67 percent of Montanans polled gave him positive marks. His highest approval rating in Montana came in December 2001 - just two months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks - when 84 percent of Montanans gave Bush positive marks.

Montanans' solid support for a U.S. invasion of Iraq has not waned since September. In the latest poll, 58 percent of Montanans said they would support an invasion, compared with 60 percent in September. The difference is not statistically significant.

Support is strongest among men with 64 percent approving of an invasion, compared with 52 percent of women.

Fifty-six percent of Montanans said they would not get a smallpox vaccination. Bush announced in December a plan to make the smallpox vaccination available to all Americans beginning in early 2004, starting with doctors, nurses and other people likely to first come into contact with the virus.

Smallpox has been considered eradicated since 1980, and generations of Americans have not been vaccinated against the disease. Today, some experts believe nations may have illegal stocks of the virus and could use them as a weapon.

In Montana, up to 3,000 health workers will be vaccinated first, according to the state's immunization plan. The smallpox vaccine involves injecting a person with live cowpox, a milder cousin to smallpox which causes a much milder disease. The vaccination, however, does have side effects, including death in a small number of cases.

Only 29 percent of Montanans said they'd take the vaccination if it was offered. Men were more likely to reject it than women, with 66 percent saying they wouldn't take the vaccine, compared with 46 percent of women.

Overall, 15 percent of Montanans said they weren't sure if they'd get vaccinated.

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ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.