Soon after Germany started the country's largest immunization campaign to fight swine flu, many have criticized the government for its preferential treatment.

Germany's mass immunization program aims to inoculate individuals with underlying chronic diseases and those with special vocations such as doctors, nurses, rescue workers and police in the first step.

While many had hoped to be immunized over the swine flu fears, scores have refused to participate in the pricey program after learning they would receive a different shot than that being administered to top politicians, federal government officials and soldiers.

According to the reports leaked to German media last week, while most Germans will be getting GlaxoSmithKline PLC's Pandemrix that contains an adjuvant, the Interior Ministry has ordered Baxter International's Celvapan with fewer side effects for the politically well-connected.

Adjuvants or chemical compounds that boost the human body's immune response are relatively new in flu vaccines; many therefore are worried that their use might be associated with certain side effects.

Aiming to defend the vaccination policy, Government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm explained that the different orders were simply the result of government departments making their purchases without coordinating.

He also added that Chancellor Angela Merkel would get the Pandemrix shot if she decided to receive a jab, stressing that both Pandemrix and Celvapan have been approved by the European Union.

PKH/HGH