Shortage Forces Pentagon to Cut Anthrax Inoculations

By ELAINE SCIOLINO

New York Times

July 11, 2000

WASHINGTON, July 10 -- Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen has decided to reduce drastically the inoculation of American servicemen against anthrax because of concerns that the country's supply of the vaccine is running out, senior Pentagon officials said today.

The decision was made after a stockpile of 194,000 doses was tested on guinea pigs in recent weeks and showed that the vaccine had lost much of its potency and might not be fully effective, they added.

The Pentagon will now inoculate only those most at risk of facing attack by the deadly biological weapon, those who serve on the ground in South Korea and Kuwait. North Korea and Iraq are believed to have stockpiles of anthrax.

"We've reached the point where we cannot continue the program at its current pace," said Maj. Gen. Randall L. West of the Marines, a senior Pentagon adviser on chemical and biological defense, in a telephone interview. "I'm very disappointed we have to slow down the program. There is still a threat, and we are very, very concerned about it. We need to vaccinate our whole force so that all of our forces have protection all of the time."

The decision to limit the anthrax inoculation program coincides with criticism from members of Congress who have sought an indefinite suspension of the program, calling it untested, ineffective and dangerous. On Wednesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold hearings on the program. On Thursday, a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee will do so.

Between 200 and 300 people in the military have refused to be vaccinated since the program began, and several have been prosecuted. In March, the Air Force discharged Maj. Sonnie Bates with a general, but not an honorable, discharge after he questioned the safety of the anthrax vaccine and refused an order to take it.

Some have complained of fever, muscle pain, fatigue, autoimmune disorders, thyroid damage and dizziness after vaccination, but the Pentagon and the Food and Drug Administration insist that the vaccine is safe and effective. The decision to curtail the vaccination program is an embarrassment for the Pentagon and Mr. Cohen.

In late 1997, he ordered all 2.4 million active and reserve military personnel to be vaccinated by 2003, demonstrating his belief in its safety and efficacy by rolling up his sleeve for an inoculation. Mr. Cohen, Gen. Hugh Shelton, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior Pentagon and military officials, have received all six doses of the vaccine.

About 1.8 million doses of the vaccine have been given to 445,000 Americans in the services. Six vaccinations over 18 months are needed to offer full protection.

The Pentagon administers about 75,000 doses of the vaccine a month. The number will probably fall to fewer than 20,000 a month, General West said.

The Pentagon has only 165,000 doses of the vaccine left in which it has "complete confidence and have passed the test in all areas," General West said. At the current rate of inoculation, the nation's supply would have run out in about 40 days.

Manufacture of the vaccine was halted last December after the F.D.A. found 30 violations in safety, consistency, record-keeping and sterility in an inspection of the only plant in the country that makes it.

The financially troubled plant, owned by the BioPort Corporation in Lansing, Mich., is scheduled to restart production when the F.D.A. gives final approval, which is expected to be by the end of the year. Until mid-1998, the plant was owned by the state of Michigan; it was then bought by BioPort. Adm. William J. Crowe Jr., the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and an unpaid member of the board of directors of the corporation, has an 11 percent interest in the corporation.

Mr. Cohen has informed General Shelton of his decision to curtail the program. The final decision of how much to cut it will be made in consultation with his top officers in the field, a senior Pentagon official said.