Halt To Anthrax Program Sought

by John Hughes

The Associated Press

May 16, 2000

WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary William Cohen should bring an ``immediate halt'' to the anthrax vaccination program, according to a letter signed by more than two-dozen House members to be released today.

The letter written by Rep. Jack Metcalf, R-Wash., points to several recent findings and criticisms about the program to inoculate all 2.4 million American military personnel against anthrax as protection against biological warfare.

The letter concludes that the program, ``is a flawed policy that should be immediately stopped'' until the military complies with the Feb. 17 recommendations of a House panel, which also was critical of the program.

Metcalf's office released a list of 27 other House members who have agreed to sign the letter and said more names could be added before the document is released Tuesday.

Names on the list included Reps. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., Martin Frost, D-Texas, Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y., Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., and Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.

The House Government Reform Committee's national security subcommittee said in the Feb. 17 report that the anthrax program should be suspended until the Defense Department obtains approval for an improved vaccine.

Along with the report from the House panel, Metcalf cites other reasons for discontinuing the vaccine, including:

An Institute of Medicine report on March 30 that said, ``There is a paucity of published peer-reviewed literature on the safety of anthrax vaccine.''

A March internal legal memorandum by two Air Force Reserve judge advocates stating that service members should be able to refuse the vaccine because anthrax should be considered an investigational new drug.

The Defense Department inspector general's report on March 22 which Metcalf said documents troubling financial management practices and multiple deficiencies that continue to compromise the program.

But the military official said many of the factors cited by Metcalf were taken out of context. The legal memorandum was never tested in a court and would have been easily knocked down by military lawyers, the official said.

In 1998, Cohen ordered all active duty and reserve troops to get the shots, starting with soldiers most likely to encounter biological warfare overseas.

The vaccine has come under increasing scrutiny from lawmakers as soldiers have expressed concerns about taking the six-shot regimen. Complaints included fevers, muscle pain and dizziness. Reserve and National Guard pilots have said that morale was plummeting and colleagues would resign rather than take the vaccine.

But Pentagon and Food and Drug Administration officials have said repeatedly the vaccine is safe and effective. FDA officials also say there is no basis for demoting the approved vaccine to an investigational drug category.

The military has immunized 570,000 people in two years representing 1.6 million immunizations. About 703 people have filed an ``adverse event report,'' meaning they cited some problem or reaction after the shots, the military said.