-Caveat Lector-
Looks like the recent spate of Army and Marine
"Refusniks" are... right on!
Wondering about all the crap they pumped into my veins
30 years ago.
flw
NY TIMES 6/29/99
Anthrax Vaccine Could Be Dangerous
Filed at 9:36 a.m. EDT
By The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A high-ranking military leader has acknowledged that the
mandatory anthrax vaccination for American troops can be potentially
dangerous, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported today.
Citing military documents, the paper reported Army Secretary Louis Caldera
agreed in September that the government would accept the burden of
potential liability claims by service members against the vaccine's
manufacturer.
According to a memo signed by Caldera, the vaccine ``involves unusually
hazardous risks associated with the potential for adverse reactions in some
recipients and the possibility that the desired immunological effect will
not be obtained by all recipients.''
Caldera also said there is no certainty that the anthrax used in tests to
gauge the vaccine's effectiveness ``will be sufficiently similar to the
pathogen that U.S. forces might encounter'' during warfare, the paper
reported.
Department of Defense officials last week insisted that the vaccine is
safe, despite wording in Caldera's letter, the paper said.
Army Col. Dick Bridges, a senior Defense Department spokesman, said the
agreement was ``legalese'' and likened it to a newspaper buying libel
insurance.
``You don't expect to libel anyone, but you can't say it's never going to
happen,'' Bridges said.
The Army is the lead agency in acquiring the vaccine for all of the armed
forces. Caldera's decision to shift liability to the government may mean
that Michigan-based BioPort Corp. would not have to pay for lawsuits
contending the vaccine caused adverse reactions in recipients or failed to
protect service members.
The manufacturer has a single-source contract with the government to
produce about 6.3 million doses of the vaccine.
Caldera's acknowledgment of the vaccine's potential dangers comes at a time
when the Pentagon is conducting an educational campaign to assure service
members that the vaccine is safe.
``This is another stunning example of the misleading and false statements
made by senior military leaders about the vaccine's safety,'' said Marc
Zaid, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who helped represent five Marines in
Twentynine Palms who have refused to take the vaccine.
``It appears to indicate either the service members are just and correct in
their reasons for refusing the shots, or the Army has blatantly distorted
the true picture of the vaccine's safety,'' Zaid said.
The Pentagon started the $130 million anthrax inoculation campaign in
March, with plans to inoculate nearly 2.5 million active-duty personnel and
reservists with six injections over an 18-month period, to be followed by a
booster annually.
According to the Pentagon, more than 220,000 members of the military have
been immunized and about 200 have refused. Forty-two of those who had the
vaccine reported adverse effects. All recovered.
On Monday, two Marines were convicted of disobeying a lawful order by
refusing to take the anthrax vaccine.
The courts-martial completed prosecutions of five servicemen at the Marine
Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms. All were convicted.
Lance Cpl. Michael McIntyre, 22, of Mount Vernon, Wash., was given 30 days
in confinement and a bad-conduct discharge. Lance Cpl. Jared Johnston, 19,
of Henryetta, Okla., received 25 days in confinement and a bad-conduct
discharge.
The previous three Marines received similar sentences.
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