Anthrax Vaccine: A Doctor's Oath And A Military Code Collide

by Dave Eberhart

Stars and Stripes

February 20, 2001

Capt. John Buck, M.D., works the evening emergency room shift at busy, sprawling Keesler Air Force Base near Biloxi, Miss. He answers questions with a crisp "Yes, sir" or "No, sir." Buck says he wants to serve his country in any climate or any place, in peace or war. After an hour with him, you have the impression that, if ordered, he would parachute into downtown Baghdad at night with his medical kit.

But there's one thing Buck won't do, even if ordered: Allow the U.S. Air Force to inject him with the anthrax vaccine.

Last October, after being placed on a two-hour alert to ship out to Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, the doctor was ordered three times to get the first of six anthrax shots under the Pentagon's controversial immunization program. The final order was in writing. In each case Buck politely refused, citing a stack of solid scientific reasons why he considered the vaccine unsafe, untested and unnecessary.

Refuses NJP

After Buck refused to accept non-judicial punishment (NJP) from his commanding general, the Air Force convened an Article 32 pre-trial investigation. The investigating officer recommended one charge and one specification of violation of Article 90 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (failure to obey a lawful order). He now faces the crucible of a general court-martial.

Buck insists that any order to a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine to take the vaccine is unlawful--an order, according to Buck, that puts the service member at risk with no benefit to health, safety or combat readiness.

The present anthrax vaccine is not approved by the FDA, and we shouldn't be injecting our troops with it. - Dr. Buck "Antibiotics have been shown to be just as effective," Buck told The Stars and Stripes. "And furthermore, such treatment is safe and approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration. The present anthrax vaccine is not approved by the FDA, and we shouldn't be injecting our troops with it."

Patients With Symptoms

Buck's objections to the vaccine are not all gleanings from his medical journals. On a day-to-day basis in his practice at Keesler AFB, he says he has seen case after case of harm done by the controversial vaccine. The medical history is always the same, he says. A patient would show no symptoms before the shot series and have serious symptoms afterward, including chronic and crippling fatigue, thyroid disorders and faulty autoimmune functioning.

"Not long before I was ordered to commence the series, a fellow officer and friend told me gratuitously: 'Whatever you do, don't take that vaccine,'" Buck said. After completing the series, Buck said his friend "went from the top 10 percent of the physically fit to someone who could barely get out of bed in the morning."

But why turn down the administrative proceeding and risk a criminal conviction?

"I'm doing this for the men and women in the service," Buck said without hesitation. "I had no interest in getting embroiled in this. Typically, those who were refusing the vaccine were being punished at NJP and were receiving forfeiture of half their base pay each month--through to the end of their tours."

Buck said that while accepting NJP would have ended his personal dilemma, it would do nothing to prompt leaders to end the vaccination program.

"There are 30 strains of anthrax out there. We know, for instance, that the Russians have a strain that is totally resistant to our vaccines."

"It is my responsibility as an officer and as a physician to do what I am doing."

The Air Force has not set a date for Buck's court-martial. He has hired a private attorney and is digging in. In the meantime, he continues to practice his specialty of emergency medicine at the hospital--and continues to see what he perceives as the ravages of the vaccine.

Please post your comments below or email David Eberhart at deberhart@stripes.com

This article, and other Stars and Stripes coverage on the anthrax dilemma, on line at:
http://www.stripes.com/servlet/News/ViewArticle?articleId=100036718&frontpageId=100036727