President Lee visits new flu patients

By Byun Duk-kun

SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak urged stepped up government efforts Wednesday to prevent spread of the new flu as he visited a Seoul hospital to observe an ongoing vaccination program.

Lee declined to be vaccinated with the priority group of people deemed most
vulnerable to the virus, which has claimed 29 lives as of Wednesday, saying he
can wait his turn.
"Noting it is one of the country's main responsibilities to protect the life and
health of the people, President Lee urged the government to mobilize all of its
capacities to fight the new flu," the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said in a
press release.
The president also urged efforts to speed up the vaccination program, through
which about 35 percent of the country's 49 million people will be vaccinated
before the end of February, it said.
He also asked that people not be affected by groundless fear, Cheong Wa Dae said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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