Blumenthal Concerned Over Mandatory Anthrax Vaccination Program
by Thomas D. Williams
The Hartford Courant
March 04, 2000
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, raising questions about potential liability to Connecticut, says he agrees with a congressional report calling for a suspension of the military's mandatory anthrax vaccination program.
Blumenthal said it is not clear whether the state or federal government would be responsible for the health care of National Guard personnel if any became sick from taking the vaccination, as the guard is a state agency.
Almost a year ago, two Connecticut Air National Guard pilots complained to state auditors about the anthrax vaccination program. They had resigned a couple of months earlier rather than take the vaccination shots.
The auditors turned the complaint over to Blumenthal, who later ruled the state has no legal power to intervene in what is essentially a dispute between National Guardsmen and the Department of Defense.
But after a continuing dialogue with the pilots -- Capt. Thomas Rempfer and Major Russell Dingle -- Blumenthal decided in December to write to U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen to ask that he "suspend the [vaccination program] until there is full scientific consensus on its safety."
There is no question the military has responsibility for health care for active duty troops, but National Guardsmen and Reservists have more complex problems because they frequently have private jobs.
Principal Deputy Secretary of Defense Charles L. Cragin answered Blumenthal by saying that suspension of the mandatory six-shot anthrax series is "unacceptable." Cragin said, however, that federal authorities are responsible for health care of sick troops.
Thursday, Blumenthal said he was not satisfied by Cragin's answer, and intends to continue communicating his concerns to the Pentagon.
"I have very strong continuing concerns about the apparent failings of the program," he said. "The House [of Representatives] subcommittee report is decimating in the defects it cites. The reported incidence of side effects and adverse reactions are very drastic and deeply troubling. We intend to pursue this issue and others."
The House subcommittee led by U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., issued a critical report of the vaccination program last month.
Hundreds of pilots in the National Guard and Reserves have resigned because of concern about potential adverse effects from the vaccine or fear they would lose their private jobs should they suffer health problems.
Hundreds of service members have complained they have become sick from the vaccine, but there is little evidence to link long-term illnesses to the shots. The defense department has acknowledged some short-term symptoms from the shots in some troops. The effort to vaccinate all 2.4 million U.S. military personnel began in 1998.
Pentagon spokesman James Turner said the department would be "happy to address [Blumenthal's] concerns and work with him."
He said a complete explanation of the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine is available on the defense department's anthrax Web site at www.anthrax.osd.mil/. The House report criticizing the anthrax vaccine is at www.house.gov/reform/ns/.
Dingle and Rempfer issued a written statement in response to Blumenthal's stance.
"We are pleased that Connecticut's elected representatives are leading the nation in protecting the troops," they said. They cited Blumenthal and Shays, as well as U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-Sixth District, who is co-sponsoring vaccine moratorium legislation.