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Bush to Announce Smallpox Vaccination Program
Aired December 13, 2002 - 14:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In just a matter of minutes, the president will unveil a plan that for the most time in more than 20 years, or for the first time, rather, in 20 years will make the smallpox vaccine available, and not everyone will be able to get it right away, though.
First up is the military. The president is expected to order half a million troops to get the vaccine within weeks. Then it will be offered to first responders, those are the folks on the front lines. The police, firefighters, and health care workers.
Of course, there are risks. Health officials say one or two of every million people given the vaccine will die from it. But administration officials say the president has decided something potentially far more devastating that outweighs that risk.
More on that now from Senior White House Correspondent John King -- hi, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra. As you noted, moments away from the president's long awaited announcement. The challenge for the president laying out why he thinks a step some would consider so drastic, giving as many as a half a million members of the United States military the smallpox vaccine, recommending that perhaps a half million over time of those first responders, medical workers, those who would respond to the scene if there were a smallpox attack, recommending that they get the vaccine. Knowing that one, two, or three could die because of the complications of this vaccine.
The challenge for the president, to lay out why he thinks the world has changed so much, the threat of such a biological attack is so great that the United States government should take this dramatic step.
That will be the president's challenge just moments from now. He's across the way here on the White House campus in the Executive Office Building, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. That is where he will make the announcement. And because of the sensitivity of this and the gravity of it, the White House planning an afternoon series of briefings to make the case that this is the right thing to do at this time. We are told, however, that the president will say that while the government will have enough vaccine on hand for all Americans, that the government is not recommending that every American go out and get this vaccine. The president will make the case the government needs to be prepared, but the delicate balance he's trying to strike here is to say there's no reason to panic, but the government must be ready.
PHILLIPS: John, a couple more things from the White House front, and that of course, the other news, President Bush talking no nukes with South Korea. Let's talk a little bit about that discussion.
KING: Well, the administration obviously quite concerned. North Korea has now publicly said it will reactivate and restart nuclear facilities that were shut down back in 1994 as part of an agreement with the Clinton administration. Mr. Bush called his South Korean counterpart, Kim Dae-Jung, this morning. We were told it was the South Korean president who said he viewed this move as unacceptable, and the president then weighed in, Mr. Bush did, saying he wants this resolved peacefully, but he will not encourage -- quote -- business as usual from North Korea. The White House believes this is a bit of blackmail, if you will, that North Korea takes these provocative steps, saying it will violate international agreements, that it is resuming its nuclear program.
The administration believes North Korea is hoping the United States will say, Whoa, don't do this, we will give you economic aid, we will give you humanitarian aid. The White House says it will not respond in that way, that North Korea must now deescalate this crisis by saying it will not restart those plants, it will allow international inspectors in to prove that a uranium enrichment facility is not being used for nuclear weapons, and then the administration says it is prepared to have a direct dialog with North Korea.
The administration worried about this, but it says right now it believes it can be, and hopes this can be resolved peacefully. Japan and South Korea, the key nations to watch as the administration focuses its policy on coordinated with those two key allies.
PHILLIPS: All right. Another key issue being talked about. Senator Trent Lott. What's the talk there, what is the feeling, John? Do they think he is a racist or not?
KING: Well, the White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, had a bit of a tough time today in the briefing room because he is trying to stay and stick to what the president said yesterday. The president said he thought Senator Lott's remarks were offensive and wrong, and that the Senator was right to apologize.
We kept trying to get Ari Fleischer to say whether or not the president accepted that apology as genuine. Did he believe -- does President Bush believe that Senator Trent Lott is not a racist, that he does not have these feelings, this endorsement of segregation. Ari Fleischer would not take the question. He said he wanted to stand by what the president said yesterday. The hope here at the White House is, Yes, they are getting difficult questions right now. Should Senator Lott be the president's point man in the Senate? Does Mr. Bush want that?
The White House is hoping that for one tough briefing today, what they get is a very strong, very forceful statement from Senator Lott today about his views on racial issues and race relations, that the senator takes any and all questions at that press conference he plans later today in his home town of Pascagoula, Mississippi. The White House is hoping that Senator Lott takes dramatic steps today to significantly calm this controversy. They don't expect him to be able to end it in one day, but they do hope he can turn down the volume considerably to get the heat off the White House.
PHILLIPS: John King, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 13, 2002 - 14:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In just a matter of minutes, the president will unveil a plan that for the most time in more than 20 years, or for the first time, rather, in 20 years will make the smallpox vaccine available, and not everyone will be able to get it right away, though.
First up is the military. The president is expected to order half a million troops to get the vaccine within weeks. Then it will be offered to first responders, those are the folks on the front lines. The police, firefighters, and health care workers.
Of course, there are risks. Health officials say one or two of every million people given the vaccine will die from it. But administration officials say the president has decided something potentially far more devastating that outweighs that risk.
More on that now from Senior White House Correspondent John King -- hi, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra. As you noted, moments away from the president's long awaited announcement. The challenge for the president laying out why he thinks a step some would consider so drastic, giving as many as a half a million members of the United States military the smallpox vaccine, recommending that perhaps a half million over time of those first responders, medical workers, those who would respond to the scene if there were a smallpox attack, recommending that they get the vaccine. Knowing that one, two, or three could die because of the complications of this vaccine.
The challenge for the president, to lay out why he thinks the world has changed so much, the threat of such a biological attack is so great that the United States government should take this dramatic step.
That will be the president's challenge just moments from now. He's across the way here on the White House campus in the Executive Office Building, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. That is where he will make the announcement. And because of the sensitivity of this and the gravity of it, the White House planning an afternoon series of briefings to make the case that this is the right thing to do at this time. We are told, however, that the president will say that while the government will have enough vaccine on hand for all Americans, that the government is not recommending that every American go out and get this vaccine. The president will make the case the government needs to be prepared, but the delicate balance he's trying to strike here is to say there's no reason to panic, but the government must be ready.
PHILLIPS: John, a couple more things from the White House front, and that of course, the other news, President Bush talking no nukes with South Korea. Let's talk a little bit about that discussion.
KING: Well, the administration obviously quite concerned. North Korea has now publicly said it will reactivate and restart nuclear facilities that were shut down back in 1994 as part of an agreement with the Clinton administration. Mr. Bush called his South Korean counterpart, Kim Dae-Jung, this morning. We were told it was the South Korean president who said he viewed this move as unacceptable, and the president then weighed in, Mr. Bush did, saying he wants this resolved peacefully, but he will not encourage -- quote -- business as usual from North Korea. The White House believes this is a bit of blackmail, if you will, that North Korea takes these provocative steps, saying it will violate international agreements, that it is resuming its nuclear program.
The administration believes North Korea is hoping the United States will say, Whoa, don't do this, we will give you economic aid, we will give you humanitarian aid. The White House says it will not respond in that way, that North Korea must now deescalate this crisis by saying it will not restart those plants, it will allow international inspectors in to prove that a uranium enrichment facility is not being used for nuclear weapons, and then the administration says it is prepared to have a direct dialog with North Korea.
The administration worried about this, but it says right now it believes it can be, and hopes this can be resolved peacefully. Japan and South Korea, the key nations to watch as the administration focuses its policy on coordinated with those two key allies.
PHILLIPS: All right. Another key issue being talked about. Senator Trent Lott. What's the talk there, what is the feeling, John? Do they think he is a racist or not?
KING: Well, the White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, had a bit of a tough time today in the briefing room because he is trying to stay and stick to what the president said yesterday. The president said he thought Senator Lott's remarks were offensive and wrong, and that the Senator was right to apologize.
We kept trying to get Ari Fleischer to say whether or not the president accepted that apology as genuine. Did he believe -- does President Bush believe that Senator Trent Lott is not a racist, that he does not have these feelings, this endorsement of segregation. Ari Fleischer would not take the question. He said he wanted to stand by what the president said yesterday. The hope here at the White House is, Yes, they are getting difficult questions right now. Should Senator Lott be the president's point man in the Senate? Does Mr. Bush want that?
The White House is hoping that for one tough briefing today, what they get is a very strong, very forceful statement from Senator Lott today about his views on racial issues and race relations, that the senator takes any and all questions at that press conference he plans later today in his home town of Pascagoula, Mississippi. The White House is hoping that Senator Lott takes dramatic steps today to significantly calm this controversy. They don't expect him to be able to end it in one day, but they do hope he can turn down the volume considerably to get the heat off the White House.
PHILLIPS: John King, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
