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(AP Photo/Haraz Ghanbari, File)
File - In this image reviewed by the U.S. Military, a razor-wired fence is shown above the Camp Delta 2 and 3 base sign, in this June 25, 2005 file photo taken at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico— Terrorism suspects held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base will soon get swine flu vaccines, despite complaints that American civilians should have priority, a military spokesman said Sunday.
Army Maj. James Crabtree, a spokesman for the U.S. jail facility in southeast Cuba, said the doses should start arriving this month, with guards and then inmates scheduled for inoculations.
He acknowledged there may be an "emotional response" from critics who argue that terror suspects should not be allocated swine-flu medications while members of the U.S. public are still waiting due to a vaccine shortage.
But he said U.S. military officials are "responsible for the health and care of the detainee population."
Medical personnel at Guantanamo requested the doses, but Crabtree said he did not know how many.
Detainees will be vaccinated "entirely on a voluntary basis," he said. "There is always going to be a segment of the population that is going to refuse," either due to anxiety about a shot or to "distrust of our motivations."
The top House Republican, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, told CNN's "State of the Union" show on Sunday that he does not agree with the H1N1 vaccination plans for detainees at Guantanamo.
"I don't think it's a good idea. The administration probably didn't think it would be very popular either; that's why they announced it on Friday night," Boehner said.
The Miami Herald first reported about the vaccination plans on Wednesday.
Health officials have recommended that people in high-risk groups receive the swine flu vaccination first. There has been heated debate in several U.S. states about where prisoners should fall in the pecking order of vaccine recipients.
