Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Sue Bailey Transferred Out of DoD

U.S. Medicine -- "The Voice of Federal Medicine"

June 2000

"Early this month assistant secretary of defense for health affairs Dr. Sue Bailey left the Pentagon and military medicine to become acting director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. If she receives a permanent appointment to the post, she will enjoy a four-year term that will not expire along with the Clinton Administration.

While Dr. Bailey purportedly was attracted by the "safety and health" related aspects of the NHTSA post, some knowledgable sources advise that the new under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness Bernard Rotsker, PhD, demanded that Dr. Bailey leave ASAP. The two reportedly clashed frequently when Dr. Rotsker headed the Office of Special Assistant for Gulf War Illness, and Dr. Rotsker is said to have complained that Dr. Bailey all too often was not in attendance at Pentagon meetings."

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DoD Anthrax Vaccine Program Faces Congressional Threat

WASHINGTON—It may not be too much longer before Congress stops asking and starts ordering that the Defense Department halt its mandatory anthrax immunization program.

Last month, Rep. Jack Metcalf (R., Wash.) sent a letter to defense secretary William S. Cohen strongly recommending that the Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program (AVIP) be "immediately stopped" until DoD develops and obtains approval for an improved vaccine.

"Recent developments have shown that DoD’s AVIP must be halted," asserted Rep. Metcalf, pointing to a recent General Accounting Office report and testimony from a half-dozen congressional hearings held the past year that highlighted program flaws and unanswered concerns. "I am particularly concerned about the disparate impact the vaccine seems to have on women," he said in his letter.

Rep. Metcalf, who last year cosponsored a bill (HR 2548) to place a moratorium on the AVIP, received bipartisan support from 34 congressional members in sending the letter.

"This seriously flawed program does not meet the high standard [military personnel] deserve," he noted. "It is time for the DoD to stop this forced program until an honest evaluation of the safety and efficacy of the anthrax vaccination is known."

Such bipartisan support could help HR 2548 and HR 2543—sponsored by Rep. Walter Jones (R., N.C.) to make the AVIP program voluntary—regain momentum after sitting on the shelf the past year.

Facing increased pressure from Congress may be a secondary concern for DoD officials, who already have their hands full trying to convince the Food and Drug Administration to approve already made lots of the vaccine in an attempt to keep the servicewide immunization program running.

The current supply is set to run out next month.