Washington - America's first family will get vaccinated against swine flu when they are advised to, President Barack Obama said in a television interview broadcast on Sunday.
"We want to get vaccinated. We think it's the right thing to do. We will stand in line like everybody else and when folks say it's our turn, that's when we'll get it," Obama told CNN's State Of The Union.
With the Northern Hemisphere entering its autumn flu season and infection rates again beginning to spike, many Americans are waiting for the first deliveries of (A)H1N1 vaccines, expected to come in the first weeks of October.
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The emergency services personnel and others who are at risk or vulnerable, including pregnant women and children with underlying conditions, will be first to get the vaccine.
"After that, I think, you're looking at kids, so Malia and Sasha would fall into that category," Obama said referring to his two young daughters. "I suspect that I may come fairly far down the line."
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that the flu season had begun earlier than normal and that the number of detected cases had risen.
"The Obama family plan is to call up my HHS (Health and Human Services) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and my CDC director, and just ask them, what's your recommendation? And whatever they tell me to do, I will do," Obama said.
Worldwide, at least 3 205 people have died of the virus since it was uncovered in Mexico in April, according to the World Health Organisation. The United States has confirmed more than 600 swine flu-related deaths.
The US government has purchased 195 million doses of swine flu vaccine and will make shots against the influenza A(H1N1) virus available free of charge starting next month. - AFP
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