PUBLISHED: 11-09-09

Editor’s note

Gitmo detainees receive vaccine

Thanks to hard work by Columbia’s Vice President of Safety and Security Robert Koverman, I received my H1N1 vaccine on Oct. 21. I am one of a small but lucky group of people who were  able to get the vaccine. But soon, despite the outcry by health care professionals about continued shortage around the country, detainees at Guantanamo Bay will also get their vaccine. That’s right—suspected terrorists who are not even U.S. citizens have suddenly made their way to the government’s priority list.

For weeks, the news has been dominated by coverage of the shortage of the vaccine. Medical experts from around the country have commented on the lack of vaccine, defined high-risks groups and have attempted to answer questions from frightened Americans. President Barack Obama declared the H1N1 pandemic a national emergency. Citizens around the country have spent hours waiting in long lines in hopes of receiving the vaccination. And suddenly, in the middle of ongoing efforts to vaccinate our country’s own population, the Pentagon issued a statement that Gitmo prisoners would be offered the vaccine before many of our own citizens.

According to Maj. Diana R. Haynie, spokeswoman for Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay, “Detainees at JFT Guantanamo are considered to be at a higher risk and therefore they will be offered the H1N1 vaccination.”

Detainees are expected to begin receiving the vaccine as early as this week.

While I don’t believe in neglecting the medical needs of detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay, I would like to know how they are considered to be at a “higher risk.” A higher risk than whom? Are they really at a higher risk than my friend Erin, who is eight months pregnant, works for Northshore University Heath System and has still not been able to receive a vaccine due to the shortage? What about my friend Lindsey, who has Type 1 diabetes, works for Northwestern Memorial Hospital and has yet to receive the shot? Are they really higher risk than the millions of Americans who have not yet received the vaccination?

The Pentagon and the U.S. government may be trying to save their reputation when it comes to the treatment of Gitmo detainees, but this time they have gone too far to protect the suspected terrorists.

The medical needs of our own citizens far outweigh those of the Guantanamo population. Until every last U.S. citizen who wants the vaccination has been able to easily get it, the government should not be focusing on Gitmo.

Once the public health crisis has been diverted and our citizens are properly inoculated, then offering the vaccine to detainees seems reasonable. Until then, they shouldn’t be treated any better than the high-risk groups within our own country who are still waiting. They, like others who have fallen ill, can be treated with Tamiflu until there is a plethora
of H1N1 vaccine.

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