The Military Vaccine Resource Directory

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Military Vaccine Resource Directory.

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Military Enlistees Tougher To Find commentary follows
The Miami Herald - Saturday December 27, 2003
Flush with ammo, Donna Valls stood in the sand bunker and took aim at a human silhouette.

The high school career counselor wasn't much of a shot. Still, she expected her M-16 would be heavier, and the Marines a lot meaner.

"I realized it's all about developing a brotherhood," Valls said of the corps.

The teen advisor at American High School in Miami was one of 28 area educators who hung out with Marine recruits earlier this month on a four-day, all-expense-paid trip to Parris Island, S.C.

The mini-boot camp is among the military's creative, quota-filling strategies at a time when the prolonged war in Iraq may discourage potential recruits. The Army sponsors a black-and-gold Pontiac Grand Prix in NASCAR races and last month, brought in Da Band, hip-hop stars from an MTV reality series, for a live concert in the parking lot of Miami International Mall.

Commentary:
May we suggest that in addition to the economic hardships - and sometimes economic failures - caused by leaving a civilian career... in addition to the prolonged war... there is that little threat of permanently losing one's health by becoming a medical guinea pig for the military's toxic cocktail of experimental drugs and vaccines.
Just a minor consideration, you think?

Attorney Mark Zaid requests emails from troops not offered informed consent
Wired - breaking news - Wednesday December 24, 2003
Send name, rank, SSAN, unit, time, date, place, and circumstances to:
contact@anthraxvaccine.net
QUOTE:
Mark Zaid, a lawyer for the six plaintiffs...said if the Pentagon deems the shots "voluntary," they must allow service members and civilian contractors directed to get them to opt out with no repercussions.
"When the next person is ordered to line up for the shot, they have to, before they inject the shot, say, 'Listen, if you don't want to take this, you don't have to.' If that person says, 'No,' they say, 'OK, move on.' That's informed consent."
If that was not done, "then they are in violation of the judge's order and subject to contempt of court."
END QUOTE

Judge: U.S. Can't Force Vaccines commentary follows
CBS News - Monday December 22, 2003
The Pentagon must stop forcing servicemen and women to take the anthrax vaccination against their will, unless President Bush signs a special order, a judge ruled Monday.
Millions of shots have been given and hundreds of service members have been punished for refusing them since the mandatory vaccinations started in 1998.
The judge ruled that the anthrax vaccinations fell under a 1998 law prohibiting the use of certain experimental drugs unless people being given the drug consent or the president waives the consent requirement.

Commentary:
Sullivan issued a preliminary injunction, saying, "The United States cannot demand that members of the armed forces also serve as guinea pigs for experimental drugs."

Medical evacuations from Iraq near 11,000
by Mark Benjamin - UPI - Thursday December 18, 2003
WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The total number of wounded soldiers and medical evacuations from the war in Iraq is nearing 11,000, according to new Pentagon data provided in response to a request from United Press International.

The military has made 8,581 medical evacuations from Operation Iraqi Freedom for non-hostile causes in addition to the 2,273 wounded -- a total of 10,854, according to the new data. The Pentagon says that 457 troops have died.

The Pentagon's casualty update for Operation Iraqi Freedom listed on its Web site, however, does not reflect thousands of the evacuations.

It is a toll the country has not seen since Vietnam, said Aseneth Blackwell, former national president of Gold Star Wives of America, Inc., a support group for people who lose a spouse from war.

Bush Plays Down Lack of WMD Evidence; David Kay Expected to Leave Before
Global Security Newswire - Thursday December 18, 2003
U.S. President George W. Bush this week seemed to suggest that the issue of whether prewar Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction was no longer significant, stressing instead the importance of the overthrow of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Dec. 17).

During an interview with ABC News Tuesday, Bush said the overthrow of Hussein justified the U.S. invasion, even though suspected weapons of mass destruction, which were long cited by the Bush administration as a cause for war, have not yet been found. Bush also said that evidence of Iraqi WMD programs, collected after the war by U.S. chief weapons inspector David Kay, showed that Iraq had violated U.N. Security Council resolutions and was a cause for war.

"If he [Hussein] were to acquire weapons, he would be the danger," Bush said. "That's what I'm trying to explain to you. A gathering threat, after 9/11, is a threat that needed to be dealt with, and it was done after 12 long years of the world saying the man's a danger," he added.

Just months after Zeferino Colunga Sr. lost his GI son in Iraq, the government arrested him and sent him back to Mexico.
by Eric Boehlert - UPI - Thursday December 11, 2003
Dec. 11, 2003 | U.S. Army soldier Zeferino Colunga Jr. died four months ago from a mysterious illness he contracted while serving in Iraq and was buried with full honors in a Texas cemetery. Last week, with the family still in mourning, the soldier's father was deported to Mexico as an illegal immigrant. Now family members wonder if the deportation of Zeferino Colunga Sr. was connected to their public demand for an independent investigation into the young soldier's death.

Bitter Medicine
by Eric Boehlert - Salon.com - Wednesday December 10, 2003
"We're a fragile family right now," says Moses Lacy.
Eight months ago his oldest daughter, 22-year-old Rachael, died in a Minnesota hospital from what Army doctors said was pneumonia. Instead, it's likely her body swiftly rebelled against the vaccinations the Army gave her, including an anthrax shot, on the eve of her deployment to Iraq. The result was an amazingly swift and unstoppable physical decline.
"I'm just a wreck," says the father. "I went one time to her burial site because it need some tending, she deserves to have a site that's pretty. But it took a lot of courage to do that. I avoid looking at her pictures in the house, but I can't take them down."

Vaccine Safety Advocates Support Senator's Vaccine Safety Resolution
Yahoo Business Wire/PR News Wire - Monday December 08, 2003
"WASHINGTON - Americans for Vaccine Safety and Accountability, headed by the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), are joining with other parent, veteran and health care organizations in support of a proposed Senate resolution asking Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to review the safety of the military's mandatory anthrax and smallpox vaccination programs..'Nobody is being screened for genetic or biological risk factors because public health agencies and industry have refused to do the scientific studies to identify those vulnerable.'..Currently, six military servicemembers are seeking a preliminary injunction in a U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. that would prevent the forced vaccination of U.S. military personnel with the anthrax vaccine and allow soldiers to give their voluntary, informed consent..A U.S. soldier's refusal to be vaccinated can result in a court martial, imprisonment, fines and dishonorable discharge from the military..A breast-feeding soldier was court martialed for refusing the anthrax vaccine because she did not want to take the risk of harming her child."

New study ordered for Hamilton biolab
by Michael Moore - The Missoulian - Friday December 05, 2003
HAMILTON - Final approval of a new, high-security facility to study the world's deadliest diseases at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories has been delayed so a draft study of the proposal can be redone.
The draft environmental impact statement, prepared by Maxim Technologies of Missoula, was released this summer and concluded the $66 million facility was appropriate for the town.
Critics, however, felt the DEIS was less than stellar; in particular, they thought it didn't sufficiently address safety concerns raised by locating the biosafety level 4 lab in Hamilton. The lab would study dangerous pathogens as part of the nation's defenses against bioterrorist attack.
A series of meetings followed the release of the draft EIS, and while the lab proposal drew its share of supporters, many remained unconvinced of the DEIS' findings.

Doctoring Orders
Tompaine.com - Thursday December 04, 2003
NOTE: John Richardson was a fighter pilot in the Gulf War, and later served as a policy analyst for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and military fellow at Harvard University. Today, he is a consultant to the National Gulf War Resource Center, a veteran's organization.
On January 14, 2002, two fellow military officers and I met with the Pentagon's newly-appointed top doctor, William Winkenwerder, M.D., to brief him on the military's anthrax vaccination program criticized in 11 prior General Accounting Office reports. I told Dr. Winkenwerder, a civilian, that he held a key Constitutional responsibility-the "civilian control"of military medicine-and that he needed to address deep systemic problems, starting with the vaccination program.
But Dr. Winkenwerder-a career hospital administrator-ignored our concerns and yielded to his military staff. Over the next year he authorized the resumption of mandatory anthrax and smallpox vaccinations. While the British and Australian military made the shots voluntary during the Iraq War, American servicemembers who refused vaccination were-and still are-being court-martialed and jailed. In contrast, the highest judge in the Canadian military ruled in 2000 that the mandatory use of the U.S. anthrax vaccine was a violation of the Canadian Charter of Human Rights. Apparently, American soldiers have no such rights.
The more serious consequences of Dr. Winkenwerder's decision are now becoming clear. On Tuesday, Dec. 2, he belatedly announced that the death of Army Specialist Rachel Lacy last April was "probably" caused by vaccines, among them the controversial anthrax and smallpox shots given to all soldiers sent to Iraq.
This admission follows a familiar pattern we've seen with Gulf War Illness in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, with Agent Orange in Vietnam War and with other military medical problems. First, the Pentagon denies responsibility. Then, they claim the death or illness is unique. And finally, they blame the victim.
Equally important, this case highlights the bipartisan indifference of a Congress that for decades has refused to hold the military accountable for law-breaking and unethical behavior related to its practice of medicine. The Pentagon has a well-established pattern of ignoring laws passed by Congress intended to protect soldiers' health. For instance, the Pentagon refused to create baseline medical records of all deployed Iraq War troops, as required under a 1997 law. And with the anthrax vaccine used on Rachel Lacy, the Pentagon ignored a 1998 law barring the military from using drugs and vaccines unapproved for their intended use without a presidential executive order.
Rachel Lacy's story is simple. She received five shots in one day and later became ill and died. In her case, the Army's admission comes after seven months of denials that vaccines caused her death. Dr. Winkenwerder asserts that her death is a "rare and tragic case," but investigations by United Press International and CBS News suggest that there have been a rash of unexplained deaths and illnesses among both deployed and non-deployed soldiers following vaccination.
For instance, the Army has attempted to attribute pneumonia deaths overseas to Iraqi cigarettes and dust, when virtually identical cases have occurred in domestically based soldiers who were vaccinated. The Army ignores the possibility that these deaths were caused by vaccines, despite Navy doctors having linked anthrax vaccine to a pneumonia-like autoimmune disorder called hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
Additionally, news reports of soldiers at Ft. Stewart, Ga., and Ft. Knox, Ky. being kept in "medical hold" units without adequate medical care have revealed few of the sick soldiers had combat-related illnesses-and most had not even deployed. Their illnesses included multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune disorders that the Army refuses to investigate. Like Lacy, the Army has blamed many of these sick reservist soldiers-who were healthy enough to be ordered to combat-for having preexisting conditions that caused their illnesses.
Finally, while acknowledging that vaccines played a role in Lacy's death, the Pentagon is once again engaging in a 'blame-the-victim' strategy, by ascribing her death to a predisposition to Lupus. This was discovered by evaluating a 1998 sample of SPC Lacy's blood the Army already had in its possession-which raises the question of why the Army doesn't screen soldiers in advance instead of waiting until they become ill or die from vaccine-related complications.
The answer, sadly, is that common sense doesn't have a place in military medicine when it conflicts with perceived operational necessity or inflexible doctrinal precepts.
Recent reports in the New England Journal of Medicine found that genetic differences contribute to development of autoimmune disorders and that these diseases may take years to develop. These findings call into question the military's rigidly uniform vaccination policies, and contradict the Pentagon's frequent assertions that post-vaccination autoimmune illnesses that develop weeks or months afterwards are not caused by the shots.
Yet, the military has stated Lacy's death will not cause a change in their immunization policies-including multiple, near-simultaneous injections. The time has come for Congress to stop the Department of Defense's continued medical abuse of America's military service members. Instead, most members passively allow wrongdoing-known to the Pentagon leadership and to Congress-to go unpunished.
For instance, in early 2000, 73 officers filed a complaint with the DoD Inspector General over false and misleading statements made to Congress on anthrax vaccine safety by the top general in the Air National Guard. After twice refusing to investigate, the DoD Inspector General cited the general for violations of the DoD Joint Ethics Regulation. But the Pentagon leadership and Congress allowed this general to remain on active duty.
More recently, the DoD Inspector General has failed to refer for prosecution three now-retired senior officers who misled Congress and military courts about anthrax vaccine safety. Two of these officers later received payments from the anthrax vaccine manufacturer, BioPort Corporation, after they retired. While the DoD Inspector General deemed these payments ethical, the allegations about giving false testimony have been referred to the FBI Public Corruption Unit. But there is little reason to expect the FBI to investigate, given that the Department of Justice is currently defending the legality of Pentagon's anthrax vaccine program in federal court.
Unfortunately, the relevant Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committees have been swayed that anthrax and smallpox vaccines are necessary by unproven assertions of a bioterror threat. So, oversight of military medicine has been left to a handful of courageous Congressmen, such as Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who, unfortunately, lack the jurisdiction-and support from colleagues-to force the military to obey the law and conform to accepted ethical standards in their practice of medicine.
The illnesses and deaths of soldiers from the medical friendly fire should have already prompted Congress to intervene and redirect the Pentagon's troop health protection programs. Sadly, such aggressive congressional oversight of military medicine is still needed. The first step toward Pentagon accountability should be a bipartisan call for the resignation of Dr. Winkenwerder and an independent criminal investigation of the medical corps officers responsible for the DoD anthrax and smallpox vaccination programs. If the unnecessary deaths of soldiers doesn't demand a congressional response, what does?

"Pentagon Smallpox Immunizations Run Better Than Anthrax Program, GAO
by David McGlinchey - Global Security Newswire - Wednesday December 03, 2003
"WASHINGTON - The U.S. Defense Department has run its smallpox vaccination program better than its anthrax vaccination program, according to a General Accounting Office report released yesterday. In September 2002, the GAO reported on the limited availability of the anthrax vaccine and a general frustration among military personnel with the information provided about the program. By comparison, the Pentagon smoothed the progress of its smallpox vaccination program 'by ensuring the availability of the vaccine and educating its personnel . both those who administered the vaccine and those who received it.'..The anthrax vaccine became mandatory five years ago, and at least 37 members of the armed forces have been court-martialed for refusing the inoculation..Officers told the GAO investigators that the education and waste management efforts were put in place to avoid problems the Pentagon encountered with the anthrax program."

A soldier's tale: Military misdiagnosis commentary follows
by NANCY BARR CANSON - The Dallas Morning News - Monday December 01, 2003
KARNACK, Texas - (KRT) - Staff Sgt. James Alford can't talk. He doesn't recognize his wife. His head shakes, his hands tremble.
He is agitated, restless, diapered and helpless, requiring round-the-clock care from his family. Unable to coordinate his fingers and hands, the former marathon runner can still walk, with assistance, and his daily ritual is to unsteadily "walk the floor," as his wife, Army Spec. Amber Alford, describes it.
In April, the Green Beret and Bronze Star recipient was sent home from Iraq by the Army. But it wasn't because he badly needed medical care.
"They sent him home to be court-martialed," said his mother, Gail Alford, a former Army nurse. "They wanted to strip him of his special forces tab. They wanted him out of the Army."

Commentary:
1st quote:
"It's a terrible thing that happened," said Maj. Robert E. Gowan, public affairs officer for the special forces. "Everyone is deeply sorry for Sergeant Alford and his family. I think personal apologies, apologies that really mean something, will happen in time."
IN TIME????? How about immediately, folks? This is exactly the way those who have the nerve to become ill from the anthrax vaccine are also treated.

2nd quote:
It's also theoretically possible that the soldier was given a contaminated vaccine.
In 2001, certain vaccine manufacturers admitted that they were using fetal calf serum and other materials from cattle raised in countries at high risk for mad cow disease, in spite of years of warnings from the Food and Drug Administration. The vaccines include those to prevent polio, diphtheria, tetanus and anthrax.
"Jamie was given all those," his father said. ...Jamie is expected to die before Christmas.

Senator: Military must review vaccine use
by Mark Benjamin - UPI - Monday November 24, 2003
WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A week after the Pentagon acknowledged one soldier's death might have been caused by a vaccine reaction, a U.S. senator is calling on the military to reconsider mandatory anthrax and smallpox vaccinations that he says could be causing "grievous" harm.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., plans on Tuesday to introduce a "Sense of the Senate" resolution asking Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to review the vaccine program amid growing reports of serious side effects. He also argues that U.S. troops face less risk of a biological attack since the overthrow of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
"There is a growing number of disturbing reports about how some of our servicemembers have contracted health problems shortly after receiving the anthrax and smallpox vaccines," Bingaman says in remarks prepared for delivery in the Senate Tuesday.
"These illnesses include mysterious pneumonia-like illnesses, heart problems, blood clots, and other medical conditions that have stricken otherwise young, healthy, and strong military personnel. It has even resulted in deaths."

Army Reserve Battles an Exodus commentary follows
by Robert Schlesinger - Boston Globe - Monday November 24, 2003
WASHINGTON | The U.S. Army Reserve fell short of its re-enlistment goals this fiscal year, underscoring Pentagon fears that the protracted conflict in Iraq could cause a crippling exodus from the armed services.
The Army Reserve has missed its retention goal by 6.7 percent, the second shortfall since fiscal 1997. It was largely the result of a larger than expected exodus of career reservists, a loss of valuable skills because such staff members are responsible for training junior officers and operating complex weapons systems.
ﾑﾑThe Army has invested an enormous amount of money in training these people, and theyﾒre very hard to replace,ﾒﾒ said John Pike of globalsecurity.org, an independent research group in Washington, D.C.

Commentary:
"Also... remember the numbers that the GAO Reported on those that were NOT going to reenlist when their ETS was up from the NATIONAL GUARD UNITS/RESERVE UNITS BECAUSE of the AVIP."
"Though I don't doubt that the war has had an impact on recruiting/retention, the major culprit is what was already presented to Congress on this illegal program that reservists can say "thanks, but, no thanks" to, and walk away. Now, as those ETS dates are coming up from being reported 3 years ago, the backlash will start to take affect."
"And, the Ohio National Guardsman is willing to deploy and even stay in/re-enlist... just not with the anthrax vaccine. One has got to see the problems this program is causing. I will hand it to the DoD for getting one thing correct... this is a "national security" issue.... or, lack thereof."

Congress OKs Health Care for Tested Vets
by Robert Gehrke - Washington Post/Associated Press - Friday November 21, 2003
"WASHINGTON - Veterans unwittingly subjected to Cold War-era chemical and biological weapons tests will get access to government health care under a bill approved Friday by Congress..The measure would extend free Veterans Affairs health care to 5,842 soldiers subjected to secret chemical and biological tests under Defense Department programs, known as Project 112 and Shipboard Hazard and Defense, between 1962 and 1973. The tests were designed to determine the effectiveness of biological and chemical agents in combat and methods of protecting troops from attacks..In most tests, the Pentagon said it used simulants instead of actual chemical or biological agents. But the Defense Department recently admitted that some of the tests included caustic chemicals and potentially deadly agents, including anthrax and the nerve agents sarin and VX. Pentagon officials said the troops were always protected. But in many instances troops were not told they were guinea pigs in the experiments. An untold number of civilians also were exposed. Rick Weidman, director of government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America, praised health care extension, but criticized the Bush administration, which limited the coverage to two years. If a link between the veteran's illness and the tests is not established within two years, the veterans could again find themselves without care."

Pentagon insists vaccine deaths rare commentary follows
MSNBC - Thursday November 20, 2003
..." Officials said Rachael Lacy's death was extremely rare and would not alter the Pentagon's vaccination program.
"Death due to vaccination is extraordinarily rare," said Col. John Grabenstein of the Army surgeon general's office. "The military has had one possible case in the last few years. That involved a yellow fever vaccine. "

Commentary:
Intersting how the FDA label on the anthrax vaccine talks about six deaths.
A second quote from this article:
Retired Army Ranger Steve Robinson, executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center, said the Pentagon's announcement was "a pre-emptive strike."
"They released what they knew was going to come out in the news anyway," Robinson said.
He said in this case they￢??ve thrown out ￢??a sacrificial lamb to admit to one￢?? death.

Advisory Panel Says Vaccines Probably Killed Army Reservist
Global Security Newswire/New York Times - Wednesday November 19, 2003
Two civilian review panels have told the U.S. Defense Department that the April death of a 22-year-old Army reservist was apparently caused by an adverse reaction to multiple vaccines she was required to receive, the New York Times reported today. Rachel Lacy died one month after receiving smallpox, anthrax, hepatitis B, typhoid, measles, mumps and rubella inoculations in one day. Col. John Grabenstein of the Army's surgeon general's office said Lacy died of a complicated illness, diagnosed as like lupus. He also said that administering multiple vaccines in one day is an accepted medical procedure, that it's considered safe practice. A panel of experts from the official U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and Armed Forces Epidemiology Board said the available information on the case strongly favors the theory that Lacy died as a result of the vaccinations.

Soldier who refused anthrax vaccine asks appeals court to revive lawsuit commentary follows
Associated Press - Wednesday November 19, 2003
DENVER (AP) - The Army violated a soldier's constitutional rights when it discharged her for refusing to take the anthrax vaccine, her lawyer told an appeals court on Monday.
Jemekia Barber accepted an administrative discharge rather than face court-martial in May 1999, but her military-appointed lawyer failed to tell her of some critical options for her defense, attorney Herb Fenster told a three-judge panel of 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Barber is asking the appeals court to revive her federal lawsuit against the Army, which was dismissed in January.
Barber was a private first-class at Fort Carson, near Colorado Springs, when she was ordered to receive the vaccine before deploying to Korea.
The Army's order for her to take the vaccine violated her constitutional right of procreation, Fenster said. He said she wants to have children and believes the vaccine could be harmful to a fetus.
Because her military lawyer didn't tell her all her options, she should be allowed to pursue her federal lawsuit arguing that mandatory anthrax vaccinations for soldiers heading into danger zones are unconstitutional for women of childbearing age, Fenster said.

Commentary:
Couple of things here. Now this quote is interesting:
"Virginia Stephanakis, spokeswoman for the Army Medical Department, said the vaccine is "clinically shown to be one of the relatively safe vaccines."
Relatively safe? Whatever happened to the statement posed by the DoD that the anthrax vaccine was one of the safest vaccines? IF the vaccine was one of the "safest vaccines", or even "relatively safe", especially for women of childbearing age, THEN, the vaccines' category would NOT have been changed from Category "C" to Category "D", meaning evidence exists between a link from the vaccine to the fetus.

Army fears new logjams in treating GIs
by Mark Benjamin - UPI - Wednesday November 19, 2003
WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Top Army officials told U.S. senators Wednesday the Army is scrambling to find doctors and housing for thousands of troops who will return from Operation Iraqi Freedom early next year.
The Army is worried about a shortage similar to the logistical crunch that left more than 600 soldiers waiting weeks and sometimes months for medical care at Fort Stewart, Ga. Some sick and injured National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers at Fort Stewart stayed in concrete barracks with no running water and no air conditioning while they waited.
The situation was first reported in October by United Press International.
Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee and Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker said a massive rotation of several hundred thousand troops early next year could strain Army medicine and housing beyond capacity. Brownlee said between 200,000 and 250,000 soldiers, including 120,000 reservists, would be going to or returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom during the first four months of next year.

Vaccines Eyed in GI's Death commentary follows
CBS News/Associated Press - Wednesday November 19, 2003
Since anthrax vaccinations were made mandatory for all U.S. military personnel in 1998, hundreds of service members have been disciplined or discharged for refusing to take the shot.
(CBS/AP) Vaccinations may have caused the death of an Army medic who succumbed a month after receiving a combination of five shots, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
The conclusion was reached by two panels that studied the death of 22-year-old Rachel A. Lacy of suburban Chicago and the illnesses of three others, Defense Department officials said.
As is common practice inside and outside of the military, Lacy received several vaccinations in one day for anthrax, smallpox, typhoid, hepatitis B and measles-mumps-rubella. The reservist got the shots March 2 at Ft. McCoy, Wis., and died a month later.
Two panels were convened at the Pentagon's request under the Health and Human Services Department. One reported last week that it tended to think, but couldn't conclusively prove, the vaccinations caused Lacy's death.

Commentary:
COMMENT: the Mayo Clinic pathologist who did the autopsy, who, unlike the Pentagon's "expert" civilian panels, is not paid by the federal government, specifically named complications from anthrax and smallpox vaccines as a contributing factor in this soldier's death. The Pentagon's and CDC's paid experts,however, are unsure.

Death linked to vaccines, but panels' conclusion not factored into probe of pneumonia cases commentary follows
by Diana Lynne - WorldNetDaily.com - Wednesday November 19, 2003
While the Pentagon has tied the sudden death of a 22-year-old Army medic weeks after receiving a series of vaccinations to those immunizations, officials have failed to speak to the implications the link holds for a rash of mysterious pneumonia cases reported among U.S. troops deployed to Southwest Asia since March. WorldNetDaily reported Army Spc. Rachael Lacy of Lynwood, Ill., died at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., April 4 after being diagnosed by one doctor as having pneumonia. The woman received smallpox, typhoid, anthrax, hepatitis B and measles-mumps-rubella vaccines March 2 at Fort McCoy, Wis., where she and her unit were preparing for overseas deployment. Lacy's father, Moses Lacy, told the Army Times his daughter had called in March and said she had chest pains and breathing problems and had been diagnosed with pneumonia. He suspected the vaccines were the cause.

Commentary:
Quote from article: "Given the fact that Lacy went to the Mayo Clinic suffering from pneumonia, her death may hold implications for the ongoing Army probe of more than 100 cases of pneumonia among troops deployed to Southwest Asia including Iraq, Kuwait, Djibouti, Uzbekistan and Qatar reported since March. Nineteen of the cases were severe enough to warrant ventilators. Two of those died one man and one woman. The 19 service members were all deployed to Central Command."

White powder not anthrax, Cocoa police say
Florida Today - Tuesday November 18, 2003
ﾓCOCOA, Fla. - The powder contained in an envelope mailed to the Cocoa Police Department on Monday has been deemed non-threatening, Police Chief Phil Ludos said today. The actual contents of the envelope have yet to be identified, howeverﾅ.Ludos didn't know the results of the second envelope that was found in City Hall, addressed to the water departmentﾅ.Both envelopes were postmarked from Orlando, which is where Cocoa's mail is processed. Police so far have no suspects, but they will process the envelopes for fingerprints.ﾔ

U.S. Fails to Certify Many Labs That Use Pathogens
by John Mintz - Washington Post - Wednesday November 12, 2003
The federal government has failed to perform required security reviews on hundreds of U.S. laboratories and thousands of scientists researching biological pathogens such as anthrax spores and plague bacteria, according to Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), who helped pass a 2002 law mandating the probes..Agencies given the job of carrying out 2002's Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act had set today as the deadline by which the nation's hundreds of laboratories needed to have been certified to do research using biological materials that U.S. officials fear could be diverted by terrorists..Last week, U.S. officials issued 'provisional' certifications allowing those labs that had filed proper paperwork to continue operating, even though they had not been approved under the law..An administration official said the delays resulted in part because so many agencies are involved.

FDA's McClellan, `Loved by Industry,' Seeks Fast Drug Reviews commentary follows
by Michael Belkin - Boomberg.com - Tuesday November 11, 2003
Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Mark B. McClellan has won friends among companies regulated by the FDA in his first year on the job. McClellan, 40, whose agency oversees industries with about $1 trillion in annual sales of everything from lipsticks to artificial limbs, is speeding up reviews of new medicines. He has made it easier for food companies to promote their products' health benefits. He has spoken out against price controls by Germany and other countries. And he has battled moves by politicians to buy cheaper drugs in Canada for sale in the U.S.

Commentary:
From the article: That prospect alarms critics such as Sidney Wolfe, head of a health-research group at Public Citizen, a consumer-advocacy organization. ``I cannot remember an FDA commissioner who was so loved by industry,'' said Wolfe, who has been tracking the FDA for more than 30 years. ``If he were doing his job, industry would be saying, `This guy is really tough on us.'''

Labs on Front Lines of Biowar
by Lianne Hart - Los Angeles Times - Sunday November 09, 2003
"GALVESTON, Texas - They are technically known as BSL-4 laboratories, but the people who work there call them 'hot labs,' ultra-secure repositories for the most deadly viruses in the world. The newest is a $15.5-million facility at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston..The 2,000-square-foot laboratory space, protected by secret-code passageways, air locks and decontamination equipment, is like 'a submarine within a bank vault,' said Lee H. Thompson, biosafety director..Eight security checks, including retina and fingerprint scans, are required to enter the storage room where viruses are kept frozen in liquid nitrogen..If a hurricane threatens Galveston, lab cultures would be autoclaved - treated by superheated steam under pressure - to dust, said Tom Curtis, UTMB spokesman. Lab animals that have been exposed to viruses would be euthanized and cremated. Viruses not in use would be locked down in a minus-70-degree freezer."

US fear thwarts progress on world biological weapons ban commentary follows
by Ian Mather - Scotsman.com - Sunday November 09, 2003
INTERNATIONAL efforts to kick-start a ban on the spread of biological weapons get under way in Geneva tomorrow just as the US is facing another reminder of the danger from deadly anthrax..But United Nations efforts to bring in tougher measures to stop the spread of biological agents by strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention have been stalled for a year as the result of US efforts..Two years ago, an attempt to draw up an agreement that would give the convention teeth through mandatory declarations and on-site inspections of dual-use facilities such as vaccine plants, backed up with the right to request 'challenge' inspections, was suddenly halted by a US veto. The American ambassador at the Geneva talks, Donald Mahley, argued that the new provisions would not cover enough suspect facilities and would focus on Western states instead of on those countries thought to be pursuing biological weapons..According to the World Federation for Culture Collections, a group of 472 organisations keep living microbial specimens in 61 countries..Moreover, more than 1,000 germ banks worldwide do not belong to the federation, and few of their culture collections are adequately secured or regulated

Commentary:
To emphasize a quote from this article: Two years ago, an attempt to draw up an agreement that would give the convention teeth through mandatory declarations and on-site inspections of dual-use facilities such as vaccine plants, backed up with the right to request 'challenge' inspections, was suddenly halted by a US veto.

U.S. Develops Lethal New Viruses
by Debora MacKenzie - New Scientist - Thursday October 30, 2003
A scientist funded by the US government has deliberately created an extremely deadly form of mousepox, a relative of the smallpox virus, through genetic engineering.
The new virus kills all mice even if they have been given antiviral drugs as well as a vaccine that would normally protect them.
The work has not stopped there. The cowpox virus, which infects a range of animals including humans, has been genetically altered in a similar way.
The new virus, which is about to be tested on animals, should be lethal only to mice, Mark Buller of the University of St Louis told New Scientist. He says his work is necessary to explore what bioterrorists might do.
But the research brings closer the prospect of pox viruses that cause only mild infections in humans being turned into diseases lethal even to people who have been vaccinated.

Sick soldiers wait for treatment
by Mark Benjamin - UPI - Wednesday October 29, 2003
FORT KNOX, Ky., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- More than 400 sick and injured soldiers, including some who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, are stuck at Fort Knox, waiting weeks and sometimes months for medical treatment, a score of soldiers said in interviews.
The delays appear to have demolished morale -- many said they had lost faith in the Army and would not serve again -- and could jeopardize some soldiers' health, the soldiers said.
The Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers are in what the Army calls "medical hold," like roughly 600 soldiers under similar circumstances waiting for doctors at Fort Stewart, Ga.
The apparent lack of care at both locations raises the specter that Reserve and Guard soldiers, including many who returned from Iraq, could be languishing at locations across the country, according to Senate investigators.

Protection for vaccine makers
by Lynne Lederman - The Scientist - Monday October 27, 2003
Lawsuits are continuing to have a chilling effect on vaccine producers, both reducing the number of companies willing to get into the vaccine business and raising the costs of development, according to legal and industry representatives at the Vaccines meeting held October 22ﾖ24 in Arlington, Va. (cosponsored by The Scientist). On the gathering's first day, legislation to limit class-action lawsuits and large damage awards against corporations failed by a single vote in Congress, killing the bill (S 274) for this year and leaving meeting attendees predicting a negative effect on the vaccine industry.

Doctors, dollars rushed to Fort Stewart
by Mark Benjamin - UPI - Tuesday October 21, 2003
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- The Army said Monday it is sending doctors to Fort Stewart, Ga., to help hundreds of sick and injured soldiers, including Iraq veterans, who say they are waiting weeks and months for proper medical help.
Many of the Army Reserve and National Guard personnel in "medical hold" at the base are living in steamy cement training barracks that they say are unacceptable for sick and injured soldiers.
The Army said in its statement that it would spend money to improve those living conditions and is dispatching a team to look into the soldiers' complaints.

Army Investigates Treatment of Ill Iraq Veterans
by JEFFREY GETTLEMAN - New York Times - Tuesday October 21, 2003
ATLANTA, Oct. 20: The Army is investigating complaints that hundreds of sick and wounded soldiers who just returned from Iraq are languishing in crudely furnished barracks without proper medical care at the Fort Stewart military base, army officials disclosed on Monday.
Many of the soldiers have been housed in short-term training barracks with concrete floors and outdoor latrines. Many have had to wait weeks to see a doctor.

U.S. Army Says Pneumonia Data Shows No Link to Vaccines commentary follows
by BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR - CNN/American Morning - Monday October 20, 2003
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Wounded and sick soldiers at Fort Stewart, Georgia, are sometimes forced to wait months for follow-up treatment, according to several Army Reservists. They say dozens of sick and wounded troops stay in open-bay barracks with concrete floors and sparse surroundings. Partially exposed toilets and a communal shower are outside the barracks, and soldiers on crutches, including one with a crushed foot, have to limp to these facilities, even at night. An Army spokesman at the Pentagon tells CNN that a team is being sent to Fort Stewart today to assess matters there.
The conditions were first reported by "UPI's" Mark Benjamin, who recently visited that base. He is with us now in D.C., along with veterans advocate Steve Robinson, who accompanied Benjamin to the base.

Commentary:
SEE:
http://www.fda.gov/cber/label/biopava0131022LB.pdf
Excerpted QUOTES from FDA-approved label:
WARNINGS
Preliminary results of a recent unpublished retrospective study of infants born to women in the U.S. military service worldwide in 1998 and 1999 suggest that the vaccine may be linked with an increase in the number of birth defects when given during pregnancy (unpublished data, Department of Defense). Although these data are unconfirmed, pregnant women should not be vaccinated against anthrax unless the potential benefits of vaccination have been determined to outweigh the potential risk to the fetus.
Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with BioThrax.
PRECAUTIONS
Pregnant women should not be vaccinated against anthrax unless the potential benefits of vaccination clearly outweigh the potential risks to the fetus.

And from the VAERS reports:
Other infrequently reported serious adverse events that have occurred in persons who have received BioThrax have included: cellulitis, cysts, pemphigus vulgaris, endocarditis, sepsis, angioedema and other hypersensitivity reactions, asthma, aplastic anemia, neutropenia, idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura, lymphoma, leukemia, collagen vascular disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, polyarteritis nodosa, inflammatory arthritis, transverse myelitis, Guillain-Barr￩ Syndrome, immune deficiency, seizure, mental status changes, psychiatric disorders, tremors, cerebrovascular accident (CVA), facial palsy, hearing and visual disorders, aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation, syncope, glomerulonephritis, renal failure, spontaneous abortion and liver abscess. Infrequent reports were also received of multisystem disorders defined as chronic symptoms involving at least two of the following three categories: fatigue, mood-cognition, musculoskeletal system.
Reports of fatalities included sudden cardiac arrest (2), myocardial infarction with polyarteritis nodosa (1), aplastic anemia (1), suicide (1) and central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma (1).

30 Plague Vials Put Career on Line
by KENNETH CHANG - New York Times - Sunday October 19, 2003
The first reports were terrifying. On Jan. 13, a leading infectious disease researcher at Texas Tech University informed officials there that 30 of 150 vials of plague bacteria in his laboratory had been stolen. Sixty F.B.I. agents swept through the campus and surrounding Lubbock to look for the missing vials.
They found no signs of forced entry into the laboratory, and after long hours of questioning over two days, the researcher, Dr. Thomas C. Butler, reversed himself. In a handwritten affidavit, he said he had accidentally destroyed the samples and had declared them missing "to demonstrate why I could not account for the plague bacteria that had been in my possession."

Sick, wounded U.S. troops held in squalor
by Mark Benjamin - United Press International - Friday October 17, 2003
FORT STEWART, Ga., Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Hundreds of sick and wounded U.S. soldiers including many who served in the Iraq war are languishing in hot cement barracks here while they wait -- sometimes for months -- to see doctors. ..."I think it is disgusting," said one Army Reserve member who went to Iraq and asked that his name not be used. That soldier said that after being deployed in March he suffered a sudden onset of neurological symptoms in Baghdad that has gotten steadily worse. He shakes uncontrollably. He said the Army has told him he has Parkinson's Disease and it was a pre-existing condition, but he thinks it was something in the anthrax shots the Army gave him. "They say I have Parkinson's, but it is developing too rapidly," he said. "I did not have a problem until I got those shots."

AP: 1/4 of U.S. Troops Lack Body Armor commentary follows
by Matt Kelley - AP Wire - Tuesday October 14, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) - Some U.S. troops in Iraq will have to wait until December to get the military's best body armor, which is strong enough to stop bullets fired from assault rifles.
Nearly one-quarter of the 130,000 American troops in Iraq still have not been issued the newest body armor, which has ceramic plates to stop rifle rounds. Delays in funding, production and shipping mean the last of the needed 30,000 sets of body armor won't be delivered to Iraq until December - more than eight months after the war began.

Commentary:
This is a great indication of the misplaced priorities of the US military. The threat from bullets and shrapnel is real, and yet the troops are not adequately protected.
Yet, the military is still court-martialing soldiers for refusing a vaccine against an anthrax "threat" that does not exist....and which has only been targeted at American civilians -- who are not vaccinated because HHS won't allow BioPort to sell the vaccine to civilians.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-10-13-army-suicides-usat_x.htm commentary follows
by Gregg Zoroya - USA Today - Monday October 13, 2003
Alarmed by the number of suicides among soldiers in Iraq, the Army has asked a team of doctors to determine whether the stress of combat and long deployments is contributing to the deaths. "The number of suicides has caused the Army to be concerned," said Lt. Col. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, a psychiatrist at the Army's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. Ritchie is helping to investigate the suicides in Iraq. "Is there something different going on in Iraq that we really need to pay attention to?" (Related story: Soldier's suicide shocks Pa. town)
In the past seven months, at least 11 soldiers and three Marines have committed suicide in Iraq, military officials say. That is an annual rate of 17 per 100,000. The Navy also is investigating one possible suicide. And about a dozen other Army deaths are under investigation and could include suicides.

Commentary:
shot at on a regular basis. They should be thoroughly investigated. That said, this story is DoD's standard response to news (CBS, UPI reports on vaccine related illnesses, most recently on Friday night) to which they do not want to respond directly: change the subject, and feign concern. They also want to create confusion in the press about the origin of the unexplained deaths in Iraq/SWA. DoD is trying to infer that that "unexplained deaths" and "suicides" are synonymous, and therefore preclude more press coverage or a Congressional investigation of the unexplained deaths.
The article also mirrors another common DoD response, which is to ascribe medical problems (unexplained deaths) to psychological problems on the part of soldiers. (For instance, a US-based USAF airman with chronic GI bleeding following anthrax vaccination was recently prescribed Paxil, an anti-depressant. Additionally, in July, an Army medical article blamed depression and mood problems for soldier's unwillingness to take anthrax vaccine. )

Military Vaccine Woes Mount
CBS Evening News - Friday October 10, 2003
(CBS) Dennis Drew was prepared to fight the enemy in Iraq, but never got the chance. After his military vaccinations, his immune system completely unraveled.
"Severe pneumonia and myocarditis, I think almost killed me," said Drew, a U.S. Army chemical weapons specialist.
Now living in constant pain, daily life is almost unbearable. His illnesses are nearly identical to those suffered by Rachel Lacy before she died last spring. The coroner said her military shots were likely to blame.

Talk Of Deep-Sixing Early Bird Surfaces commentary follows
by Vince Crawley, Times staff writer - Army Times - Wednesday October 08, 2003
Some Pentagon officials have raised the possibility of pulling the plug on the Current News Early Bird, the Defense Department's venerable and highly influential overnight news clipping service.
Air Force Col. Jay DeFrank, director of the Pentagonￃﾢ's Press Operations office, said he has heard of no serious attempt to retire the Web-based Early Bird.
But DeFrank said he has heard informal discussions in which people ask, "Why do we do it? It's labor intensive, it's expensive. It used to be for the Department of Defense; now it circulates all over the U.S. government."

Commentary:
COMMENT: The DoD "Early Bird" has always carried articles critical of the Pentagon. So, is the timing of the Pentagon's considering censoring the news by denying US servicemembers around the world access to non-DoD media just a coincidence?
Or is it a reaction to media coverage of the WMD "threat" debacle and the Army's cover-up of "unexplained" deaths in Iraq?

D.C. Army Reserve Officer Dies on Duty Overseas commentary follows
by Steve Vogel - Washington Post/Early Bird - Wednesday October 08, 2003
A U.S. Army Reserve officer from the District who was serving in Afghanistan has died from medical causes unrelated to combat, the Department of Defense said yesterday.
Lt. Col. Paul Kimbrough, 44, died Oct. 3 in Incirlik, Turkey, where he had been flown for treatment of an unspecified ailment, according to the Pentagon. Called to active duty in June, Kimbrough had taken leave from his job as a senior analyst in the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Kimbrough's family was told by military officials that he may have died from a heart condition, his father, Major T. Kimbrough, said yesterday by telephone from his home in Little Rock.

Commentary:
This came from the Early Bird - the news clipping service the Pentagon wants to discontinue

Pentagon Biological Equipment Resold to Foreign Buyers commentary follows
Global Security Newswire - Wednesday October 08, 2003
The U.S. Defense Department has sold thousands of dollars worth of biological laboratory equipment to the general public over the last several years and some of that equipment has been resold over the Internet to buyers in the Philippines, Malaysia and Egypt, General Accounting Office officials said yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 7).

Commentary:
Ahhhhh, why not. We sold anthrax to Iraq in the 1980's, and now are wringing our hands and sacrificing our kids' lives to think they might have some. Might as well arm the rest of the world - just gives an excuse for the next war and the next round of vaccines, then everybody's happy, right?

National Guardsman found dead in his tent commentary follows
by Paul Rioux and Steve Ritea - New Orleans Times-Picayune - Tuesday October 07, 2003
This story was posted here Oct. 2, 2003, but is being repeated due to the new commentary below from Dr. Meryl Nass. The gist of the story is:
A 23-year-old Army National Guardsman from Slidell who was serving in Qatar died of an apparent heart attack in his tent Monday, officials said. Kristian E. Parker was found not breathing at Camp As Sayliyah and attempts to revive him failed, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Army and Air National Guard said Wednesday. Although an autopsy is pending, cardiac arrest is believed to be the cause of death.

Commentary:
Dr. Meryl Nass's comments, below, are in response to these remarks from someone about the Times-Picayune story:
"If they cared to, journalists could perform a big service in educating the public & defusing anger over soldiers' deaths like these by quoting the figures for the comparable age group of civilians in the USA. Heart attacks do occur in the 21-30 year old age group in the USA, people do die of heat stress in the USA if they donﾴt take care to carry a bottle of water with them & sip regularly."

The Times-Picayune should be ashamed of writing headlines like 'This is a crime...that the Army and DoD are covering up...'"

Dr. Nass' response:
Actually, people under thirty do not die of heart attacks in the US, not unless there is an underlying condition, like hyperhomocysteinemia, or an autoimmune disorder.
Such underlying causes will show up on a good autopsy that includes relevant lab work.
This problem is serious, and the Times-Picayune staff are well within their rights to complain about the behavior of the Pentagon in these cases.
This is how the military manages to dissemble on causes of death: the military
a) does its own autopsies, even in some cases removing the body from a civilian hospital that could perform an unbiased autopsy,
b) does not release the results for months to the families,
c) pressures the civilian pathologists who perform some of the autopsies to change their findings--I can cite two examples in which I have spoken with family and pathologist, and finally
d) denies that the cause of death is what is written on the death certificate by the civilian pathologist, because it "was not in agreement with military doctors" (who did not perform the autopsy).
This last fact was discussed on TV by CBS Evening News' investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson a month ago, after an interview with Col. John Grabenstein, a pharmacist and deputy director of the military vaccine program.
A JAMA article written by Wiliam Winkenwerder MD MBA, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs and by this same John Grabenstein PhD RPH, published June 25, 2003, for instance, claimed that no female soldiers had developed pericarditis after smallpox vaccine and that no soldiers at all had died from 450,000 smallpox vaccinations. (There were a handful of deaths and 77 serious reactions in the 38,000 vaccinated civilians, per CDC.)
Shown the death certificate and autopsy report (done at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota) on 21 year old Rachel Lacy, who did develop pericarditis and an unspecified autoimmune disorder, and died of ARDS 4 weeks following anthrax and smallpox vaccinations, Col. Grabenstein simply said that the military doctors disputed the Mayo Clinic findings. Naturally, they did not file any vaccine adverse event report either.
For those who may be unfamiliar with the review of pathological specimens, pathology slides do not lie. If they show pericarditis, there is little to dispute. Yes, there are certain rare diagnoses that require expert pathological review...but after months of debating her case with the military flacks, and given the resources of the Mayo Clinic, that was not the case here.
There is absolutely no question that the US army is covering up diagnoses it does not like, and covering up deaths with facile diagnoses (witness the recent claim that illnesses in 17 soldiers who required mechanical ventilation were due to smoking! -- though many did not smoke and only four met the pulmonary eosinophilia criteria).
We have reached the point in the US military where unethical military officers feel they can assign the cause of death with an order, and spin doctors are given more authority than MDs. Meryl Nass, MD Meryl Nass, MD H 207 276-5092 W 207 288-5082 ext 220 or pager 441 C 207 522-5229

Navy has been aware of problems with depleted uranium since 1984
by Glen Milner info@zgcenter.org - Traprock Peace Center - Monday October 06, 2003
Seattle, WA & Deerfield, MA - The US Navy knew in 1984 that, "... should a DU penetrator oxidize resulting from a penetrator's involvement in an accident such as a fire, then the intake of DU aerosol, or ash via inhalation, ingestion, or absorption presents an internal radiation hazard."
Documents obtained by Glen Milner of the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, Poulsbo, WA. through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) were shared with Sunny Miller, Executive Director of Traprock Peace Center in Deerfield as she prepared another speaking tour by Gulf War veteran Doug Rokke. Rokke visits Seattle, on Monday, October 6, Port Townsend, WA on October 7, Portland, OR on October 8, Arcata, CA on Oct. 9, then leaves for Illinois and Germany.
Milner, Miller, Rokke and many others are working to inform the public about the health hazards of uranium-waste munitions during an eight-state speaking tour that includes Texas, Missouri, South Dakota and Indiana, with inquiries from other states. Rokke and representatives of Traprock Peace Center will bring obscure public documents to public view through the World Uranium Weapons Conference in Hamburg, Germany, October 16-19. A child's rights attorney, Charles Jenks, President of Traprock Peace Center, has posted the relevant FOIA document at http://www.traprockpeace.org

Mystery blood clots felling U.S. troops
by Mark Benjamin - UPI - Monday October 06, 2003
WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Unexplained blood clots are among the reasons a number of U.S. soldiers in Operation Iraqi Freedom have died from sudden illnesses, an investigation by United Press International has found.
In addition to NBC News Correspondent David Bloom, who died in April of a blood clot in his lung after collapsing south of Baghdad, the Pentagon has told families that blood clots caused two soldiers to collapse and die.
At least eight other soldiers have also collapsed and died from what the military has described as non-combat-related causes.
A disturbing parallel has also surfaced: soldiers becoming ill or dying from similar ailments in the United States. In some cases, the soldiers, their families and civilian doctors blame vaccines given to them by the military, particularly the anthrax or smallpox shots.
Some of the soldiers who died suddenly had complained about symptoms suffered by Bloom -- including pain in the legs that could indicate problems with blood clots.

Veterans Closer to Getting Medical Care
WIBW.com - Monday October 06, 2003
"Nearly one hundred northeast Kansas veterans may soon be eligible to receive benefits for illnesses caused by chemical and biological agents. The veterans have lobbied congressional leaders for these long-awaited benefits -- and now it seems congress is about to act. Jim Druckemiller is a veteran and has spent two years lobbying congress for medical care for what he says was unethical human testing in the 1960s. Druckemiller and hundreds of other veterans of the Cold War era say they were involved in a secret deparment of defense project known as S.H.A.D. -- Shipboard Hazard and Defense. 'Project SHAD was designed to perform a lot of tests on chemical and biological agents,' Druckemiller said. Now after pressure from Druckemiller and other veteran groups, the Department of Defense has acknowledged there were tests conducted on these veterans..Now Druckemiller and other veterans are optimistic they will get the medical care they deserve."

Galveston biosafety lab to get UTEP assistance
Associated Press/Star-Telegram - Monday October 06, 2003
"EL PASO, Texas - One of two national biocontainment centers where scientists will study some of the world's most dangerous microorganisms will get research assistance from a West Texas educational institution on fighting biological terrorism. The University of Texas at El Paso will aid the $150 million National Biocontainment Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston with research for developing treatments to counter health effects from biological terrorism, UTEP officials say..The UTEP Biosciences Research Facility, which is under construction and will be operational by mid-2005, is expected to function in connection with the Galveston laboratory by providing support in medical and scientific research, university officials say..At the $27 million Biosciences Research Facility, scientists will research a higher level of diseases while working with the Galveston laboratory to study more closely public-health issues surrounding bioterrorism."

4,000 troops get medevac commentary follows
by Mark Benjamin - UPI - Sunday October 05, 2003
Nearly 4,000 U.S. troops have been evacuated for noncombat medical reasons from Operation Iraqi Freedom - with more than one in five of those being for psychiatric or neurological problems, according to Pentagon data. A combination of what the Pentagon is calling evacuations for "psychiatric" and "neurological" problems make up 22 percent of the 3,915 evacuations, with 478 and 387 evacuations, respectively. Another 544 evacuations have been for "general surgery," 290 for gynecological reasons and 118 for orthopedic problems.

Commentary:
A leading veterans' group said the data needed to be studied to understand the true cost of the war and potential health hazards. "Clearly there is more detail that needs to be given about the nature and causes of these evacuations," said Steve Robinson, executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center.

Veterans Liaison to the Secretary VA Request commentary follows
Dep. of Veterans Affairs - Sunday October 05, 2003
The Secretary requests your assistance in locating veterans who have a 100% disability, and are willing to testify that they have waited more than 30 days for medical appointments. If you know of any veterans who meet this requirement, please notify me as soon as possible.
Bruce G. Nitsche
Veterans Liaison to the Secretary
Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
3033 Winkler Extension
Room 747
Fort Myers, FL 33916
(239) 931-6135 (voice)
(239) 851-0057 (cell)
(239) 931-6136 (fax)

Commentary:
The shorter list would be anyone who's gotten an appointment within 30 days.

Germ warfare research tested faith, citizenship commentary follows
by Scott Shane - SunSpot.net - Sunday October 05, 2003
"It was one of the most bizarre military assignments of the Cold War, and a half-century later James R. Morgan remembers it vividly: He strapped on a face mask, clamped it to a port on the side of a huge Fort Detrick test chamber called 'the Eight Ball' and inhaled the germs that would infect him with an exotic disease called Q fever..Morgan was a Whitecoat, one of 2,300 Seventh-day Adventist soldiers who found an alternative to combat duty by volunteering as test subjects in the U.S. biological warfare program between 1954 and 1973..To this day, most Whitecoats are proud that they found a way to serve without violating the Adventists' strong religious convictions against killing. If there's any resentment, it comes from a sense that they were lured into testing offensive germ weapons and not just defensive vaccines..Over two decades and 153 studies, the Whitecoats - young, healthy, male soldiers who usually obeyed the church's ban on smoking and drinking - tested vaccines and drugs against a witches' brew of diseases: tularemia, sandfly fever, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and others..Given the religious convictions that led them into the program, some of the Whitecoats feel they were not fully informed about the nature of the biological warfare program at Fort Detrick. From World War II until President Richard M. Nixon closed the program in 1969, Army researchers there made biological bombs and spray devices to attack a potential enemy with lethal or crippling germs."

Commentary:
Quote: Given the religious convictions that led them into the program, some of the Whitecoats feel they were not fully informed about the nature of the biological warfare program at Fort Detrick.

Slidell soldier dies at Qatar posting: Heart Attack at 23
by Paul Rioux and Steve Ritea - The Times-Picayune - Thursday October 02, 2003
A 23-year-old Army National Guardsman from Slidell who was serving in Qatar died of an apparent heart attack in his tent Monday, officials said.
Kristian E. Parker was found not breathing at Camp As Sayliyah and attempts to revive him failed, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Army and Air National Guard said Wednesday. Although an autopsy is pending, cardiac arrest is believed to be the cause of death.

U.S. Accuses Cuba of Germ Weapons Program
Reuters/Washington Post - Thursday October 02, 2003
WASHINGTON - The United States, yet to find evidence to back its charge that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, issued a new accusation on Thursday that Cuba had a "limited" biological arms program. Cuba has previously denied the accusation, repeated on Thursday by Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere Roger Noriega at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Cubaﾦ "We continue to believe that Cuba has at least a limited, developmental, offensive biological weapons research and development effort and is providing dual-use biotechnology to other rogue states," said Noriega, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America. Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque called the charges a "bald-faced lie" and challenged the United States to supply proof.

U.S. Selects Sites for Biodefense Research Network
by David Ruppe - Global Security Newswire - Thursday October 02, 2003
ﾓWASHINGTON ﾗ A U.S. federal agency this week named 11 academic facilities to receive funds for building or upgrading high-security, biological defense laboratories. Recently established security requirements for such sites have been a source of contention this year, and one facilityﾒs president has called for a national debate on the issue. In an announcement Tuesday, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said it would establish two National Biocontainment Laboratories by providing $120 million each to the Boston University Medical Center and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galvestonﾅ Each center is slated to receive grants of between $7 million and $21 million. All facilities are required to provide matching funds.ﾔ

Announcement: Pilots' Corner and New Labs, New Vaccines sections still available
Military Vaccine Education Center - Wednesday October 01, 2003
The Pilots' Corner section of this web site may still be found at http://www.milvacs.org/pilots2.cfm. The New Labs, New Vaccines section may still be found at http://www.milvacs.org/Newlabs.cfm
These sections require further programming before being added back into the web site. We apologize for the inconvenience, and appreciate your patience.

Anthrax Vaccine

Back to list

Further legal developments on the current case
U.S. District Court, District of Columbia - Wednesday December 31, 2003
All,

This morning DoJ had filed an objection to our request on Monday for a two week timeframe to respond to the Dec 24th filing. The Judge just denied this request...which also effectively denies DoJ's ultimatum/deadline in its Dec 30th to vacate its order of injunctive relief by of Jan 6th.

Seems as if the Judge isn't going to be bullied by the Govt. The question now is whether the Govt will appeal his order below. Note that Judge has scheduled a hearing on Jan 14th.

Subj: Activity in Case 1:03-cv-00707-EGS JOHN DOE et al v. RUMSFELD et al "Order on Motion for Extension of Time to" Date: 12/31/2003 1:06:16 PM Eastern Standard Time
Sent from the Internet >br> ***NOTE TO PUBLIC ACCESS USERS*** You may view the filed documents once without charge. To avoid later charges, download a copy of each document during this first viewing.
U.S. District Court
District of Columbia
Notice of Electronic Filing

The following transaction was received from lcegs1, entered on 12/31/2003 at 12:51 PM EDT and filed on 12/31/2003
Case Name: JOHN DOE et al v. RUMSFELD et al
Case Number: 1:03-cv-707
Docket Text:
MINUTE ORDER granting [20] Plaintiffs' Motion for Extension of Time and granting [22] Defendants' Motion to Expedite Review of the pending motions. Plaintiffs shall file Responses to Defendants' Motion for Clarification or in the alternative for Reconsideration and Defendants' Motion to Vacate the Preliminary Injunction and for a Stay by no later than 4:00 p.m. January 9, 2004. Any Replies to the pending motions shall be filed by 4:00 p.m. January 12, 2004. The Court, sua sponte, schedules a Motions Hearing for all pending motions at 10:00 a.m. on January 14, 2004. Plaintiffs are excused from filing a Reply to their Motion for Extension of Time. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on December 31, 2003. (lcegs1, )

When it comes to vaccines, let soldiers call the shots commentary follows
Chicago Sun-Times - Tuesday December 30, 2003
Editorial originally ran Dec. 24, 2003:
Soldiers must obey orders. Normally that would begin and end our thinking regarding the U.S. military's desire to inoculate its troops against anthrax.

But the military, which has performed so skillfully and admirably during warfare, has a terrible record when it comes to guarding the health of its personnel off the battlefield, and has lost the right to dictate, unquestioned, what troops should be required to automatically undergo.

For decades, the U.S. military supervised the most atrocious violation of the soldiers and sailors under its command. Thousands of Navy personnel were exposed, deliberately, to mustard gas during World War II, then their injuries ignored. This sort of outrage went on for years, from the army trotting out troops to be exposed to the radiation from atomic blasts -- between 1945 and 1962, a quarter of a million soldiers were needlessly subjected to nuclear blasts -- to its stonewalling victims of Agent Orange after the Vietnam War, to its neglect of the snowballing Gulf War Syndrome problem.

Commentary:
snip:... the military has lost its right to inflict medical experiments on its soldiers, in light of what a National Academy of Sciences panel called ''a well-ingrained pattern of abuse and neglect.'' That pattern will have to be ancient history before the military finds itself in a position to be completely trusted by those of whom it already asks so much.

No longer a threat commentary follows
Air Force Times; also Army, Navy and Marine papers - Tuesday December 30, 2003
The Defense Department's mandatory anthrax vaccination program has been snakebit from its inception. Now, in the face of a U.S. District judge in Washington who ordered the Pentagon to stop forcing service members to take the anthrax shots, the Pentagon has backed down. For now.

The Pentagon, having successfully put off any and all legal challenges to the program over the past six years, was caught totally off guard. "The lawyers are going to look at it," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said at a press conference Dec. 23. "They're going to recommend a way forward."

At first, that way forward was to continue the inoculation program on a voluntary basis. Several hours later, however, the Pentagon backed down. In a statement released that evening, the Pentagon said it "will stop giving anthrax vaccinations until the legal situation is clarified."

Judge Emmet G. Sullivan issued his ruling based on an argument anthrax vaccine opponents have been pushing for years: that the vaccine was developed to protect against cutaneous anthrax and certified for that purpose by the Food and Drug Administration, but never intended or certified for use against inhalational anthrax, the form of the disease that would be used in a biological weapon.

"The women and men of our armed forces put their lives on the line every day to preserve and safeguard the freedoms that all Americans cherish and enjoy," Judge Sullivan wrote. "Absent an informed consent or presidential waiver, the United States cannot demand that members of the armed forces also serve as guinea pigs for experimental drugs."
Defense officials said it was unlikely they would seek a presidential waiver.

Memo to Secretary Rumsfeld and his lawyers: The way forward is simple.

The main worry over the past six years has been that Saddam Hussein's Iraq might unleash anthrax as a weapon. Saddam is in custody. Iraq is under our control. No weapons of mass destruction have been found. Anthrax is not a universal threat. The vaccine no longer is universally necessary.

Commentary:
re: The vaccine no longer is universally necessary.

Editor's note: Nor was it ever universally necessary.

FDA: Anthrax vaccine 'safe and effective' commentary follows
CNN - Tuesday December 30, 2003
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Food and Drug Administration Tuesday declared the anthrax vaccine "safe and effective" in response to a federal judge's injunction against mandatory vaccinations of what he said was an experimental drug.

...The FDA said its "final rule and order" is that the vaccine is "safe and effective for the prevention of anthrax disease -- regardless of the route of exposure."

The FDA also cited an independent review of the vaccine by the Institute of Medicine, which concluded that it was safe.

Commentary:
Here we go. If anyone ever needed evidence that the FDA is tucked securely and safely into the back pocket of the Dept. of Defense, here it is. A few points to remember:

1) The Pentagon funded the Institute of Medicine study, and there isn't a single dissenting opinion in it, even the Army's own publicly stated opinion that the anthrax vaccine is highly reactive. Furthermore, the study conveniently ignores independent studies as well as the label on the vaccine itself.

2) The FDA/DoD consortium here is trying to use animal data to back up this current claim that the vaccine is safe and effective. This move is a direct outcome of the fact that the Bush administration, in conjunction with the FDA, has moved to declare animal data acceptable in vaccine research without human data trials. Feel safer now?

3) Snip from the article: Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit issued a statement saying that the FDA's ruling is nothing more than "after-the-fact gamesmanship to overrule the Court's findings."

To say the least. The collusion between the FDA and the Dept. of Defense is not simply corrupt; it is also immoral, unethical, illegal, and appalling. Is this what we want for our sons, daughters, brothers and sisters on the front lines? Will you help us speak out?

A dose of restraint ordered for Pentagon commentary follows
The Virginian Pilot - Monday December 29, 2003
A federal judge, not the Pentagon, has struck the latest blow for the safety of our troops. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered the Pentagon to stop giving a controversial anthrax vaccine to service members without their consent.

The judge found for six unnamed plaintiffs who claimed the shot was being ￢ﾀﾜ used for an unapproved purpose￢ﾀ? as protection against inhaled anthrax as well as for its conventional use against anthrax exposure through the skin.

"The United States cannot demand that members of the armed forces also serve as guinea pigs for experimental drugs," the judge admonished the Pentagon.

Hundreds of servicemen have refused to take the shots and some left the service in protest.

According to USA Today, at least 37 have been court-martialed for their refusal, and several have been imprisoned.

Commentary:
FYI: Since last week the following newspapers have published editorials supporting Judge Sullivan's Dec 22nd anthrax vaccine ruling: Baltimore Sun, LA Times, NY Daily News, Fayetteville (NC) Observer, Columbus Dispatch, Greensboro (NC) Record, Salt Lake City Tribune, and the The Virginian-Pilot; as well as the USA Today on Dec 10th.

GIs in Iraq have mixed reactions on halt to anthrax shots
by Ward Sandersib - Stars and Stripes, European Edition - Sunday December 28, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq: Troops in jittery Iraq have plenty to turn over in their minds mortars, missiles and the general threat of mayhem among them.

But one thing the military assured them they would have some protection against was the specter of anthrax: Before deploying here, each and every U.S. soldier had to take an anti-anthrax vaccine.

But after U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan issued a ruling Dec. 22 that ordered the military to stop requiring soldiers take the vaccine, the word in the desert is mixed. Some troops believe the vaccine is indeed a needed Kevlar against the disease-cum-weapon and are thankful for it. A few are ambivalent, saying they would have chosen to take the serum, optional or not. And some greeted last week's decision with a welcome sign, with a shared distrust that the Pentagon's claims about the vaccine are not backed by science.

"I think it should be optional for the military," said Sgt. Ray Poole of the Florida National Guard during his sentry shift in front of a convention center. "If the private sector can turn down the serum, we should be able to. As much as I appreciate the Army's effort to check all the serums and what have you, I still put a little more faith in the private sector."

U.S. Asks Judge to Lift His Ban on Pentagon's Anthrax Vaccination Program commentary follows
by THOM SHANKER - New York Times - Saturday December 27, 2003
WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 : The Justice Department has asked a federal district judge here to withdraw his preliminary injunction halting the military's mandatory anthrax vaccination program, or at least limit his ruling to the six plaintiffs whose suit prompted it.

The department's motion is the Bush administration's first legal response to the injunction, issued on Monday and barring the Pentagon from "inoculating service members without their consent."

The motion, which promises to be just one step in a long court battle, seeks clarification of whether the injunction applies solely to the six plaintiffs, each identified only as John Doe. If not, it asks that the judge reconsider, arguing that the suit was not filed on behalf of all military personnel.

Commentary:
snip:"The vaccine as being used is experimental in nature and therefore unlawful unless informed consent is given," Mr. Zaid said. "So to argue that this decision should only apply to those six individuals does a real injustice."
Mark Zaid is one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case.

LOCAL SOLDIER GIVEN ANTHRAX VACCINE
KPVI-TV - Friday December 26, 2003
Wednesday, a U.S. district judge ordered the military to stop adminstering the anthrax vaccine to service members without their consent until a trial can be held on the matter. Plaintiffs in the case argue that the anthrax vaccine is being used as an experimental drug.

But for one local Air Force member, the ruling may have come too late. Bryan Latham explains.

Vance Wasden, USAF-honorably discharged:
"Last Christmas Eve, they had to have an ambulance come and get me because my wife thought that I was dying because I stopped breathing and my eyes rolled in the back of my head."

It is just one of the many traumas Vance Wasden lives through. But it wasn't always like this - Wasden was once a very healthy 24-year-old serving in the United States Air Force. However, his life changed back in 1998 when he had an adverse reaction to the anthrax vaccine.

"The joint pain, the muscular pains, the memory loss, concentration problems..."

Plus chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia - all which he battles daily. In total, Wasden lives with over a dozen different conditions - all due, he says, to a bad vaccine.

"My vaccination was five years old and they changed the date on my vaccine just so they could give it to me and the FDA inspections and Congressional oversight also proved sequeline was in my vaccine illegally."

Suprisingly, Wasden says he whishes he could still serve, loves the military, and has nothing but admiration for those still serving.

"I am not doing this out of hostility towards the military. I am just hoping that what I say and what other people say will protect our troops."

He has a document outlining other members of his unit who have become sick too.

"I hope that they will take the time to write their congressmen, write their senator, and write to Washington, and ask that the people who were jailed - they'll be given an honorable discharge, and all those who are sick be given a proper military retirement and for the families of those people who are dead, will get retribution."

What he wants is every soldier to be properly honored.
More than 800,000 troops have received the anthrax vaccine since 1998.

Letter from attorney Mark Zaid on next steps in the anthrax vaccine lawsuit
Mark S. Zaid, Esq., attorney - Thursday December 25, 2003
FROM: Mark S. Zaid, Esq.
DATE: December 25, 2003
RE: Next Steps

1. The decision of the Honorable Emmet Sullivan of the US District Court for the District of Columbia agreeing that the anthrax vaccine is experimental for purposes of combating inhalational anthrax was a significant victory. However, this was just a battle. The war continues.

2. I am receiving many e-mails from service members, civilian contractors and their family members. I will try to respond to each as I can. For now, this message will attempt to answer the looming questions.

3. For those who want to know how this ruling will impact their prior disciplinary actions, this question is premature. This will become an issue if we can maintain our current posture but we do not know if the ruling is temporary or will become permanent.

4. The government has already filed a motion to limit the applicability of the court's ruling to only the six plaintiffs. That is, the policy would remain in effect for everyone (i.e., mandatory) except for the six individuals in the lawsuit. Although this is absurd from a policy standpoint, there is legal precedent to support this posture. We will, of course, be opposing this effort. Our response may include seeking to certify the lawsuit as a class action or including every single individual who wishes to join and refuse the vaccine. The government will undoubtedly appeal the decision and we will fight that. Additionally, there is also a concern that the DoD will seek a presidential waiver.

5. THIS IS WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO DO IMMEDIATELY:
(a) Contact your Congressional representatives (both House and Senate) immediately, both in the DC and district offices. Provide them with a copy of the judge's decision (you can obtain a copy on numerous news websites such as CNN, CBS or legal websites such as www.findlaw.com, or the DC federal district court: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/03-707.pdf ). It is best to call and write. E-mail is usually ineffective unless you have a specific e-mail address for a staff member. Do not bother with generic office e-mails. Request that the Congressional member support legislation to stop the mandatory anthrax vaccine program. MOST IMPORTANTLY, given that this 2004 is an election year for most, tell them that you will NOT vote for them unless they help you with this issue. Additionally, ask that they write to President Bush and tell him NOT to issue a waiver.
(b) Send a letter directly to President Bush advising him that you will NOT vote for him in 2004 if he issues a waiver.
(c) Contact the editorial boards of your local and state newspapers and ask them to write an editorial that supports Judge Sullivan's ruling (the LA Times already has).

MORE TO FOLLOW.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Anthrax Shots Require Consent, Military Told commentary follows
by Vernon Loeb - Washington Post - Tuesday December 23, 2003
A federal judge in Washington yesterday ordered the Pentagon to stop administering an anthrax vaccine to U.S. service members without their consent, ruling that defense officials cannot require troops to "serve as guinea pigs for experimental drugs."

Commentary:
Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), a leading congressional opponent of mandatory anthrax vaccines, said the ruling was "an affirmation of what we have been saying for years and years." "The military needs to back off, make amends and restore in good standing those that have been punished," he said.

Rep. Christopher Shays to call for DOD review of disciplinary actions against refusers in light of yesterday's decision
CT TV News - Tuesday December 23, 2003
In granting the preliminary injunction, Sullivan ordered the government to file responses by Jan. 30. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., said he will ask the Defense Department to immediately begin a review of all disciplinary actions taken against service members who refused the vaccines, including the more than 200 who were court-martialed.
Shays, who conducted a number of hearings on the issue in his Government Reform subcommittee on national security, said he will draft legislation requiring the review if DOD fails to do one.
"This decision ends years of coercive practices that has spanned two administrations and shaken the faith of many in the integrity of military medicine and command decision-making," Shays said.

Federal judge: Anthrax vaccine not mandatory commentary follows
by PATRICK JACKSON - Delawareonline.com - Tuesday December 23, 2003
Saying members of the American armed forces should not be used as "guinea pigs for experimental drugs," a federal judge on Monday ordered the Pentagon to stop mandatory anthrax vaccinations started in 1998.
More than 900,000 servicemen and women have received the shots, among the millions of doses of various vaccines administered annually to protect troops against disease and bioterror threats. Hundreds of service members, including several at Dover Air Force Base, have been punished or discharged for refusing to receive the shots, according to the Pentagon.

Commentary:
Sullivan's ruling could be of some help to a former Dover Air Force Base C-5 pilot who was honorably discharged in 2000 for refusing to be vaccinated. Former Air Force Maj. Sonnie Bates at one point faced a possible court martial for his refusal.
A lawsuit challenging the vaccine filed by Bates in the Washington, D.C., court in 2001 was dismissed last year. But Sullivan's ruling could provide new grounds for Bates to seek reinstatement or restoration of the military pension he lost, said Bates' lawyer Mark Zaid, a Washington attorney also involved in the lawsuit that led to Sullivan's ruling Monday.
"It's about time," said Bates, now a civilian pilot. "This may open the door for the walking wounded from this vaccine to get the health treatments they need and for some of the younger lieutenants, captains and airmen who had to end their careers because of this to rejoin the military."

Judge Assails Vaccine Plan commentary follows
by By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press And THOMAS D. - Hartford Courant and CTnow.com - Tuesday December 23, 2003
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon must stop requiring military personnel to take the anthrax vaccination against their will, unless President Bush signs a special order, a judge ruled Monday.
Millions of shots have been given and hundreds of service members have been punished for refusing them since the mandatory vaccinations started in 1998.
The central question in the case is whether the drug is experimental or unapproved for use against inhalation anthrax, said Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court in Washington.

Commentary:
Snip: "Two Connecticut U.S. Air Force Reserve officers are among those challenging the military's use of the vaccine and have persuaded U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Connecticut, to investigate the accuracy of Pentagon officials' contention that the vaccine is safe.
Lt. Col. Russell E. Dingle and Maj. Thomas L. "Buzz" Rempfer contend that three of the officials minimized the number of service members fleeing the military to avoid vaccination. Two others, they say, misrepresented, the vaccine's license, which they say has not been properly approved. The officials targeted in the lawsuit, all now retired, include three generals from U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps, an assistant secretary of defense, and a top anthrax researcher at U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases.
Dodd had written the Department of Defense Inspector General Joseph E. Schmitz in April asking him to give the complaints "the consideration they deserve." Dodd later learned that Schmitz in November 2002 turned the complaints over to the public corruption section of the FBI and criminal investigators for the FDA. So Dodd recently redirected his queries to the FBI and the FDA. The inspector general concluded one officer's testimony had lacked "the necessary element of `straight-forwardness,'" and was "inconsistent with the [military] guidelines for honesty."

Judge Sullivan's written decision declaring order to take anthrax vaccine illegal commentary follows
findlaw.com - Monday December 22, 2003
Click on the link for the written opinion/decision declaring the anthrax vaccine to be an experimental drug and the order to take the vaccine illegal.

Commentary:
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR TROOPS AND VETERANS!!!

DOD WITHHOLDS STUDY ON ANTHRAX LESSONS LEARNED
FAS Project on Government Secrecy - www.fas.org - Thursday December 18, 2003
In the latest sign of the expanding scope of official secrecy, the Department of Defense has formally refused to release a report on lessons learned from the 2001 anthrax attacks, in which anthrax spores were sent through the mail to members of Congress and the media, even though the report is unclassified.

What makes the move somewhat unusual is that the Pentagon did not invoke national security as the reason for withholding the document.

Instead, in denying a Freedom of Information Act request from the Federation of American Scientists for the anthrax study, the Department cited FOIA exemption (b)(2) (High) which protects information that, "if disclosed, might be used to circumvent an agency rule or regulation." No particular agency rule or regulation was identified.

Furthermore, "this document falls under the guidance of the US Attorney General memorandum, dated October 12, 2001 , that restricts the public distribution of information related to homeland security and protection of critical infrastructure," according to the December 12 denial letter from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). See:
www.fas.org/sgp/news/2003/12/dtra121203.pdf

But exemption 2 is completely inapplicable to this document, FAS argued in a letter of appeal. Nor is the Attorney General authorized to unilaterally impose new "restrictions on public distribution of information" that go beyond the nine exemptions from disclosure that were provided in the FOIA. See:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2003/12/dtra-appeal.pdf

The Department of Defense seems to have so clearly exceeded its authority in this case that if the appeal is denied, the stage may be set for corrective judicial action. A successful legal challenge in this case could help to limit the growing practice of using FOIA exemption 2 to withhold information on unclassified homeland security and critical infrastructure matters.

"I'm amazed that DoD is giving this case to you on a silver platter," said one former DTRA official who said he found the agency's argument for withholding the document untenable.

"There is no 'rule or regulation' DoD can cite that has any relevance to this whatsoever -- let alone one that they can accuse this report of subverting."

"For their sake, I can only hope that [DTRA] realizes that denying your appeal is going to have the effect, when you win in court, of striking down DoD's entire information management policy," the former official told Secrecy News, anticipating one possible sequence of events. (See also SN, 8/19/03 ).

Should troops get the anthrax vaccination? commentary follows
Army Times - pg. 54 - Monday December 15, 2003
Two articles here - one by Andrea N. Meyerhoff and Col. John D. Grabenstein on the "Yes" side of the issue, again promoting the "safety" of the vaccine, and claiming, among other things, that the rate of illnesses among those who have been vaccinated is no higher than the normal rate of illness; and that fewer than 10 people have been separated from the service as a result of the vaccine. (Never mind the GAO reports of an adverse reaction rate as high as 84%, and that the entire military has a major problem in retention of its people due to the anthrax vaccine.)
On the "No" side are Lt. Col. Russell Dingle and Major Tom Rempfer, Air Force Reserve officers who were members of a 1998 Connecticut Air National Guard investigative team that helped identify legal and ethical issues regarding the anthrax vaccine. You can find the body of their work on this web site by clicking on the Pilots' Corner, then Tiger Team Alpha.
In this article, Dingle and Rempfer again outline the lack of rigorous scrutiny of this vaccine; the hyping of the threat posed by anthrax; the known health risks; the legal status of the vaccine as an Investigational New Drug, a ruling that has never been finalized by the FDA; and the vaccine's probable link to recent cases of pneumonia and fatalities among our troops. There is a great deal more to both of these statements, found in the full transcripts at armytimes.com.

Commentary:
One of the things that always stands out during these types of debates is that the leadership defending the program, can never refute the facts. The same rhetoric gets stated: "safe, effective, etc...", but read the articles in full. Nowhere in Grabenstein's statement does he refute any of the facts presented by MAJ Rempfer or LTC Dingle.
As "well-meaning" as Grabenstein is at defending this illogical program and deliberately lying about the illnesses, screenings and refusers, it begs for common sense that the only result of these actions are destroying the lives and health of those who serve of which the leadership has an obligation to protect.

Guardsman given discharge, jail for refusing anthrax shots commentary follows
by Sherri Williams - Columbus Dispatch - Sunday December 14, 2003
The first Army Ohio National Guard member charged for refusing to take the anthrax vaccine was sentenced yesterday to 40 days in jail and a bad conduct discharge.
Spc. Kurt Hickman, 20, had worried about health risks of the vaccine, but Military Judge Col. Emmett Moran said at the end of the court-martial at Beightler Armory that putting on the guard uniform can be a health risk. Disobeying a lawful order also endangers others, Moran said.

Commentary:
This is the first case in the National Guard resulting in imprisonment.
Remember what the DoD official (Asst. SecDef for Reserve Affairs) said a few years ago in Congressional hearings -- link -- http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_house_hearings&docid=f:63501.wais
Excerpt from 29 SEP 99:
Mr. Shays. Are you aware of any service members who have been told they would be subject to discipline proceedings ...
Mr. Cragin. ... they are certainly not going to be subject to any penalties . That is one of the points of the Guard and the Reserve.
Needless to say, our DoD is doing whatever they can get away with in this dilemma, and will continue to do so until the civilian authority of the legislative or executive branches of our government exert their Constitutional oversight responsibilities and hold the DoD accountable for its violations of US law. Until then, DoD will continue to hold young men like Army Specialist Hickman accountable instead of themselves.
Maj. Tom Rempfer

Officials make recommendation for Granville soldier who refused vaccine commentary follows
by JONATHAN ATHENS - Neward Advocate - Sunday December 14, 2003
COLUMBUS -- Military officials recommended on Saturday an Ohio Army National Guardsman be jailed for 40 days, demoted to the rank of private and be given a dishonorable discharge for disobeying a lawful order.
Spec. Kurt Hickman, 20, of Granville, became the first National Guardsman to be court martialed for refusing to accept the anthrax vaccine. The court martial, held in Columbus at Beightler Armory, lasted just under four hours and ended with the recommendation by Col. Emmett Moran, said Ohio Army National Guard spokesman James Sims.
Hickman, who is a college student and part of the Guard's public affairs unit, was slated to be sent overseas in January and was excited about going until he found out he would be required to take the anthrax vaccine, said Hickman's civilian defense attorney Ken Levine.

Commentary:
"This is the first time a Guardsman has been incarcerated for refusing the anthrax vaccine...We were disappointed and embarrassed for the governor and the National Guard," Levine said.

Mandatory anthrax shots stir health fears, sap morale
USA Today - Friday December 12, 2003
Ohio National Guardsman Kurt Hickman expected to head to Iraq or Afghanistan after getting a call-up notice days before Thanksgiving. Instead, his more likely destination is a jail cell. Hickman, 20, faces trial Saturday for refusing a mandatory anthrax vaccine he fears isn't safe. More than 500 other soldiers already have received punishments ranging from demotions to court-martials for refusing required anthrax shots.
The Pentagon says vaccines are essential to protect soldiers' health - particularly from anthrax in Iraq, which developed biological agents. But that doesn't trump the Defense Department's equal obligation to investigate and weigh potential problems.
Instead, it clings to its policy of mandatory vaccinations, even as other countries are moving toward voluntary programs with successful results. The dug-in U.S. position forces concerned soldiers to choose between possibly endangering their health and ending their military service at a time when troop strength already is stretched.

A Shot in the Dark
by Eric Boehlert - Salon.com - Wednesday December 10, 2003
The U.S. military requires troops to take controversial anthrax shots and court-martials them if they refuse. But critics say the vaccine is too dangerous -- and with Saddam's bioweapons nowhere to be found, needless.
This summer, on the first Monday of August, Teresa Colunga was taking a break from her job at the local bakery in Bellville, Texas, a town of 4,000 people 60 miles west of Houston, when a local patrolman approached and told her the police station had received a fax from the Army about her big brother, 20-year-old Zeferino, an American GI serving in Iraq. The note said he had been transferred to a hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.
Teresa asked the policeman to call the hospital in Germany and find out what was wrong. "After he talked to the nurse, he looked at me and said, 'Your brother has cancer, leukemia.' I said, 'There's no way.'" When Teresa relayed the news to her mother, Juanita Colunga fainted on the spot. Two days later, after contracting pneumonia, Zeferino died from a 105-degree fever, says Teresa.
After receiving three different explanations for his death (acute leukemia, acute lung injury, and pneumonia), members of the Colunga family are still awaiting their copy of the final autopsy. There are a lot of questions they want to ask. Most of them are about a topic the Army doesn't seem to want to discuss: the series of anthrax vaccination shots Zeferino received right he was deployed to the Persian Gulf.

Parents ask Taft to back guardsman's stance on anthrax shot
by KENT MALLET - Central Ohio Advocate - Wednesday December 10, 2003
GRANVILLE -- The parents of Granville resident Kurt Hickman, a member of the Ohio National Guard who has refused to take anthrax-vaccination shots required for overseas deployment, have taken their fight to the governor..."We implore, and pray, that the governor and our elected officials will stand by this honorable soldier in his time of need," the Hickmans wrote in the letter. "He asks only that he not be put through 'friendly fire' -- six anthrax injections, or imprisoned for requesting that his military, constitutional and individual rights be honored.

Guardsman's family seeks governor's help in anthrax case
by Kent Mallett - The Granville Sentinel - Wednesday December 10, 2003
The parents of Granville resident Kurt Hickman, a member of the Ohio National Guard who has refused to take anthrax-vaccination shots required for overseas deployment, have taken their fight to the governor.
Bill and Diane Hickman delivered letters Monday to Gov. Bob Taft, as well as state senators Jay Hottinger and James Carnes and state representatives David Evans and Jimmy Stewart, asking the government officials to intervene on their son's behalf.
Hickman, a 20-year-old junior at Ohio University, is scheduled for a special court martial hearing on Saturday, when he could be sentenced to 100 days in jail. They asked the governor to issue a temporary stay of any disciplinary action.
Orest Holubec, a spokesman for the governor, said Taft was not planning to intervene in the matter.
"The governor has no basis to conclude that the National Guard is acting inappropriately," Holubec, said. ￂﾳ"Therefore, the matter will proceed under the Ohio code of military justice."

If you match this description, contact attorney Mark S. Zaid
Mark S. Zaid, Esq., attorney - Tuesday December 09, 2003
Attorney Mark S. Zaid would like to hear - via e-mail only - from potential plaintiffs who fit the following description:
- military or civilian, facing mandatory vaccination
- allow your name to be used (although some will be considered under a "John or Jane Doe" basis)
- state the following:
* Name
* Contact info (mailing address, telephone #s)
* Rank and duty station (if military), job position (if civilian)
* Whether you are willing to be named

You do not qualify if you have already been disciplined and left the sevice; that issue is being dealt with separately.
E-mails only to Mark Zaid by clicking on this link. No phone calls accepted.

Anger over vaccines festers
by Laurin Sellers - Orlando Sentinel - Friday December 05, 2003
When Zack Johnson enlisted in the Navy in 1996, he planned to make it a career.
That was before the Miami resident refused to take a mandatory anthrax vaccination -- a decision that left him court-martialed, jailed and booted out of the military without so much as a customary bus ticket home.
Still, Mike Girard would trade places with him any day.
A former senior airman at Patrick Air Force Base, Girard started the six-shot series of anthrax vaccination in February. After the second shot on March 4, he vomited for two weeks straight. The rash, joint pains and memory problems that followed eventually forced him out of the service.
"I would rather have taken 30 days in the brig and a dishonorable discharge than to live like this every day," Girard said recently.
Despite vastly different choices, the two men have ended up in the same place -- alongside hundreds of American veterans who say the vaccine shattered their lives.

Military Court Hearing for Soldier Who Refused Anthrax Vaccine
WTRF TV - CBS affiliate, Ohio - Tuesday December 02, 2003
The attorney for an Ohio National Guardsman who allegedly refused to submit to an anthrax vaccination says he'll plead innocent to a charge of refusing to obey a lawful order.
A military-court hearing is scheduled tomorrow at an armory in Columbus.
Twenty-year-old Specialist Kurt Hickman of Granville is the first guardsman in Ohio to refuse to be inoculated for the disease.
Hickman's attorney, Kenneth Levine, says a trial date will be set at tomorrow's hearing. It will be closed to the public.

FBI Wary of Anthrax Probe Disclosure commentary follows
by Curt Anderson - Washington Post/Associated Press - Tuesday December 02, 2003
WASHINGTON - Disclosure of what the FBI knows about the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks could enable terrorists to engineer biological weapons to escape detection, the FBI says in documents filed in response to a lawsuit by a scientist labeled a 'person of interest' in the case. Citing the criminal investigation and national security concerns, the Justice Department is trying to persuade a federal judge to delay the lawsuit filed by Dr. Stephen J. Hatfill, who contends the government invaded his privacy and ruined his reputation by leaking information to the media implicating him in the attacks..Richard L. Lambert, the FBI inspector in charge of what is being called the 'Amerithrax' investigation, says in a court document that Hatfill's lawsuit could jeopardize the probe and expose national secrets related to U.S. bioweapons defense measures..Disclosure also would make public the vulnerabilities and capabilities of U.S. government installations to bioweapons attacks and expose sensitive intelligence collection sources and methods, Lambert said.

Commentary:
This time, it seems apt to ask our own government: Exactly what did you know, and when did you know it?

Guardsman formally charged for refusing anthrax vaccination
Newark Advocate - Monday December 01, 2003
GRANVILLE -- A member of the Ohio National Guard who refused to take an anthrax vaccine before an overseas deployment was charged Friday with failing to comply with an order.
Kurt Hickman, 20, a junior at Ohio University and a guardsman for two years, could spend 100 days in jail for refusing the shot, which protects U.S. military personnel against exposure to anthrax, said Kenneth T. Levine, Hickman's attorney.
Hickman has not refused to be deployed with his Ohio National Guard unit, which is scheduled to go overseas in January, said James Sims, deputy director of public affairs for Ohio National Guard.

HELP MAKE THE ANTHRAX VACCINE VOLUNTARY
Senator Jeff Bingaman - Wednesday November 26, 2003
Senator Jeff Bingament propsed his vaccination bill yesterday (25 Nov 2003, the last day Congress will be in session until Jan 04. Again, this resolution seeks making the program voluntary! - in addition to expunging the records of those discharged under any other conditions than 'honorable'. Have everybody you know write in and support this resolution! Anyone who is affected in any way by the Anthrax vaccine should write to him to support his bill by Dec. 31st. Here is the address:

U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman
Attention Aubre Brennen
703 Heart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Ohio Army Guard Soldier Refuses Anthrax Vaccine commentary follows
by Sherri Williams - Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch - Tuesday November 25, 2003
Kurt Hickman is the first Ohio National Guardsman to refuse to be vaccinated against anthrax. He could be jailed.
Kurt Hickman is willing to go around the world to fight for his country, but the Granville man's immediate battle is with his superiors in the Ohio National Guard because he refuses to be vaccinated against anthrax.
Hickman, an Ohio University junior majoring in journalism, thinks the vaccine might make him ill. But he has been told he could be sent to jail unless he receives it, his father, Bill Hickman, said.

Commentary:
Quote from article: A 2002 survey by Congress' General Accounting Office found that 85 percent of Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard troops vaccinated against anthrax between 1998 and 2000 suffered adverse effects, ranging from headaches and muscle aches to dizziness and difficulty breathing.
Last week, the Department of Defense announced that the anthrax vaccine may have caused the death of Rachel Lacy, an Army Reserve specialist in Wisconsin who died April 4 after having five of the six shots in the series.
Lawmakers are concerned about the mandatory anthrax vaccination. Citing health hazards, Sen. Jeff Bingaman is to introduce a resolution today asking that it be voluntary, said Jude McCartin, press secretary for the New Mexico Democrat.

Letters, Powder Threaten Post, Other Offices
by David A. Fahrenthold and Spencer S. Hsu - Washington Post - Thursday November 13, 2003
The FBI is attempting to determine who mailed four threatening letters, each containing a powdery substance, that were received at The Washington Post and other locations in the past 10 days. The powder was tested and found harmless, the FBI said. Besides The Post, which received its mailing yesterday, the letters went to a Denver radio station, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and a Long Island television station, authorities said. All four letters had postage, postmarks or return addresses from Pakistan. Debbie Weierman, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Washington Field Office, said the letters appeared to be identical and contained a message 'to the effect of 'Death to Americans.'' She said they also included the sentence, 'Penicillin won't help you.'..While technicians have not identified the powder, fire department spokesman Alan Etter said preliminary tests found it did not contain biologically hazardous matter and was safe.

BioPort given yet more money
Detroit Free Press - Wednesday November 12, 2003
BioPort Corp., a Lansing company that manufactures the only U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved anthrax vaccine, has teamedwith Therapeutic Systems Research Laboratories Inc. andthe University of Michigan's Vector Core to investigate development of a technology for DNA delivery of oral and injectable vaccines.
The project is to be funded in part by a $646,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health. The grant is part of the federal government's bio-terrorism-related research program.

Anthrax Scare Ends After More Testing
by Manny Fernandez and Spencer S. Hsu - Washington Post - Saturday November 08, 2003
"A brief anthrax alert was declared a false alarm last night, and U.S. Postal Service officials began reopening mail facilities in the Washington area that they had closed as a precaution. The scare began about 5 p.m. Wednesday, when a routine test of air filters at a mail-sorting facility at the Anacostia Naval Station turned up positive for a biological agent identified initially as anthrax. But Navy officials said last night that a series of tests conducted yesterday indicated that finding was a 'false positive,' with the facility ultimately showing no sign of anthrax spores..Scientists will continue to monitor cultures taken from the Anacostia facility before declaring an end to the episode..Tests of the air and surfaces inside the Anacostia facility conducted yesterday showed no signs of anthrax, a Navy official said last night."

10 Post Offices Closed Over Anthrax Scare
by Steve Vogel and Thomas E. Ricks - Washington Post - Friday November 07, 2003
"Postal officials announced last night that 10 neighborhood post offices in the Washington area will not open today, calling the move a precautionary measure prompted by the possible detection of anthrax spores in a mail-sorting facility at the Anacostia Naval Station. The decision by the U.S. Postal Service came hours after the Navy confirmed that a sensor in a mail-sorting machine at the naval station detected the presence of anthrax spores Wednesday. A subsequent analysis done at Fort Detrick also tested positive for anthrax, but a 'definitive finding' will not be available for several days, Cmdr. Conrad Chun, a Navy spokesman, said last night..But as a precaution, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that the five workers who were in the facility when sensors went off start taking antibiotics, Chun said..Officials from several agencies described the suspect spores as being dead, but Chun said no test had been conducted to confirm this."

"Shot" by Friendly Fire
Tom Flocco.com - Tuesday November 04, 2003
Defense Department Forcing Anthrax Vaccines Without Informed Consent, Covering Up Failed Shot Program

Widow￢ﾀﾙs Only Son Threatened With Jail, Sent to Kuwait Frontlines for Refusing Anthrax Shots / Fighter Pilots and Support Crew Sick from or Refusing Injection Are Ostracized, Demoted, Grounded, And Forced into Retirement by Air Force Generals -- While Allies Make Anthrax Shots Optional / Full-Time National Guardsmen Sick from "Vaccine Cocktails" Denied Adequate Medical Care by Pentagon / General Lied Under Oath to Congress About Hundreds of Pilot Resignations.

Soldier contracts Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (mad cow disease)
Dallas News - Tuesday October 28, 2003
"In 2001, certain vaccine manufacturers admitted that they were using fetal calf serum and other materials from cattle raised in countries at high risk for mad cow disease, in spite of years of warnings from the Food and Drug Administration. The vaccines include those to prevent polio, diphtheria, tetanus and anthrax."

Anthrax Vaccine Victims asked for letters to send Congress
by Adele Drew - Adele Drew - Thursday October 09, 2003
Hi everyone-
I have a huge favor to ask of anyone who is interested. I am in the middle of writing a letter to send to everyone on the armed services committee. It occured to me that others of you may like to get in on this as well. Since I know that there is more likely to be strength in numbers, this is what I am proposing: Anyone who is having a reaction to the anthrax vaccine, please type a letter about your experience including dates, symptoms, doc visits and what you would like to see happen with the anthrax vaccine, etc...And mail it to me and I will send in a copy of each person's letter to every person on the armed services committee. The only catch is that you would need to send me 90 copies of this letter signed with your phone and address printed on them. I know it's a lot of copying, but I think it's worth a shot. If I get enough response, I would consider going to DC and delievering the packages by hand. Also depending on the amount of response, I'm going to contact the press and see if they would be interested in doing a story on this undertaking, so people will be made even more aware of what is going on. So I'm asking you to please help. Tell everyone that you may know of that's going through a reaction what I'm trying to do. If you're interested please contact me. I know this is a long shot, but I also know that we can't get anywhere dealing with this individually. I would need these no later than 3 weeks from today, October 8, 2003.
Thanks and good luck to all of you,
Adele Drew
dkdrew711@aol.com or
adrew@hot.rr.com
254-526-5698 >

Harvard University Researcher Details New Vaccine Efforts
by Mike Nartker - Global Security Newswire - Wednesday October 08, 2003
WASHINGTON: A researcher from Harvard University yesterday detailed her team's efforts to create a new and more effective anthrax vaccine that could combat both the anthrax bacterium and the toxin it creates (see GSN, Sept. 3).

Ill airman: "Wounded by my country" commentary follows
by Pat Hammond - Manchester (NH) Union-Leader - Sunday October 05, 2003
MANCHESTER: When he enlisted in the Air Force, Michael Girard thought he had set foot on the first rung of a promising career ladder.
That was in 1999, when he signed up in the delayed-entry program at the start of his senior year at Central High School. Girard was already big on physical fitness and hockey ... but he pushed even harder to condition his body for the military career that assured action, travel to exotic places and a head-start on a law enforcement calling when he got back to civilian life.
As of Oct. 21 the Manchester native will be a civilian again, but a future as a police officer now appears improbable.
Unrelenting pain and fatigue -- reactions to an anthrax vaccination administered to him in March -- have rendered him unfit for duty, and the Air Force has placed him on what is called the Temporary Disability Retired List. That means he' out of the Air Force for now but his condition will be evaluated on a regular basis to see what his future status will be.

Commentary:
Snip: And this is the problem! If our legislators have no control over the military, then who the hell does? "Thomson, in Sununu's office, forwarded the Air Force's letter to Girard and wrote, 'Although Senator Sununu sympathizes with your current situation, neither a Senator nor a Congressman can dictate the policies of the Department of the Air Force.' "

Two Firms Receive Anthrax Vaccine Contracts
Global Security Newswire - Thursday October 02, 2003
The United States awarded contracts this week to two firms to acquire 6 million doses of new anthrax vaccines. VaxGen Inc. of California received $80.3 million and Avecia Group of Manchester, England, was awarded $71.3 million. The contracts, issued by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, order each firm to continue development of its version of an improved vaccine and to manufacture 3 million doses. The contracts keep both companies in the running for an expected $1.4 billion contract to produce and maintain 60 million anthrax vaccine doses by 2013.Under the VaxGen contract, the firm will test the vaccine's efficacy by determining if it protects animals infected with anthrax. Human studies of the vaccine's safety began earlier this year and all the volunteers at four locations have received their immunizations.

Marine Discharged For Refusing Anthrax Vaccine commentary follows
TheSanDiegoChannel.com - Wednesday October 01, 2003
Lance Cpl. Kevin Lotz, 21, a machine gunner stationed at the Twentynine Palms Marine base, will serve 14 days in a military jail and receive a bad-conduct discharge -- one step less severe than a dishonorable discharge, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. After the sentencing, Lotz told the Union-Tribune he still thinks the military's vaccination stance is wrong. He refused inoculation because research left him convinced it wasn't safe. "People shouldn't be punished for this if they are sincerely worried," Lotz told the Union-Tribune. "It should be voluntary."

Commentary:
Long time allies of the United States maintain a voluntary Anthrax Vaccination policy for their military. The United Kingdom and Australia are two prime examples. Why does the US protect this faulty program with the harsh sentencing of good troops?

"Direct Order" on anthrax vaccine film wins 13th film festival award commentary follows
by Scott Miller - Directorder.org - Wednesday October 01, 2003
The film DIRECT ORDER has won it 13th film festival and has now qualified for the Oscars in the Documentary category! let every one know and have anyone and everyone go to the web site

Commentary:
Scott Miller has done a remarkable job of documenting the history and use of the anthrax vaccine, and its devastating effects upon troops, vets and their families. Do not watch this film if you are afraid to look seriously at the consequences of AVIP - the military's Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program.
Who needs an outside enemy to fight, when we are decimating our own ranks?

Smallpox Vaccine

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CDC Director Denies Existence of U.S. Smallpox Immunization Program
by David McGlinchey - Global Security Newswire - Tuesday November 18, 2003
WASHINGTON In a sharp departure from previous public comments by senior U.S. officials, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that the United States never launched a smallpox vaccination program this year, but instead worked toward an overall preparedness campaign. Almost a year ago, CDC Director Julie Gerberding and Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson appeared to lay out the details of the nationwide smallpox vaccination program. Last week, however, Gerberding said that the United States didn't actually have a vaccination program, we had a comprehensive smallpox preparedness program. Although the difference between an immunization program and a preparedness program might seem small, the CDC has been trying to play down expectations for the nationwide vaccinations after far fewer health care workers than expected volunteered to receive the smallpox vaccine. Several senior health officials have recently acknowledged that the program has fallen short of its goals. No U.S. official has ever denied the existence of the immunization effort.

Official Says U.S. Smallpox Immunization Efforts Have Stopped
USA Today - Thursday October 16, 2003
The U.S. smallpox immunization program, intended to defend the nation against a bioterrorist attack, has come to an informal halt, USA Today reported today (see GSN, June 19).
"The fact is, it's ceased," said Raymond Strikas, who directed the civilian immunization program for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Not that anyone's issued an edict to say stop," he added.

Gulf War Syndrome

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GULF vets' lawyer targets firms for sales to Iraq
by Peter Andersson and Niklas Pollard - Reuters - Thursday October 02, 2003
TOCKHOLM, Oct 2 (Reuters) - A lawyer for U.S. veterans of the 1991 Gulf War says he has new evidence that Sweden's Alfa Laval and five other groups sold Iraq equipment in the 1980s that may have been used to make biological weapons -- a charge some of the companies denied or declined to discuss.
Lawyer Gary B. Pitts told Reuters on Tuesday he had obtained Iraqi procurement papers to back a lawsuit dating from 1994 against Swedish, German and Swiss firms and a U.S. laboratory which he intends to extend to a class action that will seek billions of dollars in damages.
"The documents show clearly that Alfa Laval's equipment was used in a programme for biological warfare. They show exactly how the equipment was used," he said by telephone from Houston.

Lawsuits

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Suit Alleges Anthrax Drug's Side Effects
AP Wire - Saturday October 18, 2003
CAMDEN, N.J. Oct. 18 - Four U.S. Postal Service workers have sued the maker of an antibiotic they took during the anthrax scare two years ago, saying the drug caused harmful side effects. The lawsuit filed in Superior Court on Friday claims that Bayer Corp. failed to disclose data that Cipro could damage nerves and tendons.
The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, also accuses three New Jersey hospitals of failing to provide warnings, perform exams or offer alternative medications.

How to become a client in this class-action lawsuit
Gary Pitts - Thursday October 02, 2003
Pitts & Associates and Maloney, Martin & Mitchell, L.L.P.'s website regarding the lawsuit by the 1991 Gulf War veterans against the companies that built Saddam Hussein's nerve gas and mustard gas factories, supplied chemical agent production equipment for him, and sold him the chemical precursors for nerve gas and mustard gas.

Gary B. Pitts Pitts & Associates 8866 Gulf Freeway, Suite 117 Houston, TX 77017-6528 (713)910-0555

News from Great Britian and Australia

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Soldiers to sue over new Gulf War syndrome
by Mark Townsend - The Observer - Sunday November 23, 2003
Dozens of soldiers who served in Iraq are to sue the Government, claiming they are suffering from a new form of Gulf War syndrome.
Multiple vaccinations given in the run-up to the conflict are being blamed for chronic pains, stomach problems, rashes, swelling, fever, depression and anxiety.
Lawyers and medical experts say the symptoms are identical to those which affected thousands of veterans after the 1991 Gulf conflict.
The Observer has learnt that 13 soldiers have launched legal actions against the Ministry of Defence over what is being called Gulf War II syndrome. A similar number of 'robust' cases are to be launched in weeks.
In addition, a former MoD employee has obtained the medical records of another 40 Iraq veterans also suffering similar symptoms. Each case could cost the Government ﾣ1 million in damages.

Peer urges Gulf vaccinations inquiry
Femail.co.uk - Monday November 10, 2003
"The case for a public inquiry into the health effects on British troops of vaccinations for the 1991 Gulf War was 'compelling', according to a Labour peer. Lord Morris, a political adviser to the Royal British Legion, said he would use a House of Lords debate to push the war veteran charity's campaign for a full investigation..The Legion has renewed its campaign following revelations about serious gaps in the medical records related to the immunisation programme in a parliamentary question that the Ministry of Defence took nine months to answer..'This issue needs to be brought out into the open. The Legion is taking the lead on behalf of the many 1990/91 Gulf War veterans, both those who are unwell and those who have no symptoms of ill health, who believe that Gulf War illnesses are attributable to the concentrated anti-biological weapons immunisation program and/or the requirement to take pyridostigmine bromide (known as NAPS) tablets as an antidote to attacks on the nervous system.'"

Anthrax threat shot down early in war commentary follows
by Mark Dunn - Melbourne Herald Sun - Tuesday October 07, 2003
Story ran Oct. 6, 2003: ANTHRAX was discounted as a threat by Australian military leaders 10 days before the Iraq war started.
A controversial anthrax inoculation program for Australian soldiers and sailors was secretly suspended before the first shots were fired.
The fear of Saddam Hussein using anthrax as a weapon of mass destruction was a major factor in the war in Iraq.
But Australian defence chiefs rated the anthrax threat so low they ordered a complete stop to inoculations just two weeks after the invasion began on March 20.
They kept the decision from the Australian public, and 52 sailors and other personnel who refused the vaccine were told they were sent back to Australia for their own safety.
Anthrax formed a key plank in the push by President George W. Bush's "coalition of the willing" for military action against Iraq.
On January 30, President Bush said Saddam had failed to account for 25,000 litres of anthrax among other missing chemical warfare agents.
"If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning," President Bush said.
In a February 6 presentation to the UN, US Secretary of State Colin Powell held up a small vial and reminded Security Council members it took less than a teaspoon of anthrax to close the US Senate, kill two postal workers and shut down the postal system in 2001.
But confidential documents obtained by the Herald Sun under Freedom of Information show Australia's assessment of the anthrax threat changed significantly in the lead-up to the war.
On March 10, 10 days before the start of hostilities, the Australian Defence Force stopped its inoculation program for the next rotation of ships to the Middle East pending an anthrax review.
An HMAS Sydney crew, which formed part of a subsequent rotation, was inoculated in part to "maintain operational flexibility" and "to ensure consistency of health counter measures".
By early April, ADF chief General Peter Cosgrove told Defence Minister Robert Hill the vaccination program for most personnel had ceased.
"Defence has determined that the anthrax threat has reduced sufficiently to remove the need for anthrax inoculations for deployed personnel except for those involved in sensitive site exploitation," he wrote.
In a later memo to Senator Hill, General Cosgrove asked that details of the decision to stop inoculations for the majority of those deployed remain secret from the public.
"Force preparation requirements for deployed personnel remain an operational security issue and should not be made public," he wrote.
The defence papers also give an insight into the preparation for war, with briefing minutes showing anthrax vaccines were purchased in December 2002 -- a month before Prime Minister John Howard committed Australian forces to the campaign.
The documents warned public knowledge of vaccination preparations "could be misinterpreted as a Government decision to commit forces to operations against Iraq".
Suppressed from the material released to the Herald Sun were details of Senator Hill's own inoculation regime in preparation for his visit to the conflict zone.
Other documents were withheld because they contained sensitive security information. Anthrax formed a key plank in the push by President George W. Bush's "coalition of the willing" for military action against Iraq. On January 30, President Bush said Saddam had failed to account for 25,000 litres of anthrax among other missing chemical warfare agents. "If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning," President Bush said. In a February 6 presentation to the UN, US Secretary of State Colin Powell held up a small vial and reminded Security Council members it took less than a teaspoon of anthrax to close the US Senate, kill two postal workers and shut down the postal system in 2001. But confidential documents obtained by the Herald Sun under Freedom of Information show Australia's assessment of the anthrax threat changed significantly in the lead-up to the war. On March 10, 10 days before the start of hostilities, the Australian Defence Force stopped its inoculation program for the next rotation of ships to the Middle East pending an anthrax review. An HMAS Sydney crew, which formed part of a subsequent rotation, was inoculated in part to "maintain operational flexibility" and "to ensure consistency of health counter measures". By early April, ADF chief General Peter Cosgrove told Defence Minister Robert Hill the vaccination program for most personnel had ceased. "Defence has determined that the anthrax threat has reduced sufficiently to remove the need for anthrax inoculations for deployed personnel except for those involved in sensitive site exploitation," he wrote. In a later memo to Senator Hill, General Cosgrove asked that details of the decision to stop inoculations for the majority of those deployed remain secret from the public. "Force preparation requirements for deployed personnel remain an operational security issue and should not be made public," he wrote. The defence papers also give an insight into the preparation for war, with briefing minutes showing anthrax vaccines were purchased in December 2002 -- a month before Prime Minister John Howard committed Australian forces to the campaign. The documents warned public knowledge of vaccination preparations "could be misinterpreted as a Government decision to commit forces to operations against Iraq". Suppressed from the material released to the Herald Sun were details of Senator Hill's own inoculation regime in preparation for his visit to the conflict zone. Other documents were withheld because they contained sensitive security information.

Commentary:
This can only mean that the Australians quietly learned from seeing what happened to their own troops, or from the Canadians, that the significant risk of chronic illness developing in their troops outweighed the risk of getting anthrax during the Iraq war.
Meryl Nass, M.D.

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