[Anthrax-no] Another Dr. Mercola article (by me) on anthrax vaccine procurement

[Guest guest]

" Meryl Nass, MD "

Sat, 8 May 2004 10:18:24 -0400

[Anthrax-no] Another Dr. Mercola article (by me) on anthrax vaccine

procurement

 

http://mercola.com/2004/may/8/anthrax_vaccine.htm

 

 

Is the Anthrax Vaccine Really Safe? What You Must Know About “Project Bioshield”

As the Pentagon moves thousands of troops into Iraq, soldiers, citizen groups

and members of Congress are increasingly calling upon defense officials to stop

anthrax vaccinations.

 

Growing numbers of soldiers are refusing the mandatory anthrax vaccine, citing

the lack of anthrax in Iraq as a reason behind their stance. The vaccine has

accumulated thousands of reports of adverse reactions ranging from headaches and

vomiting to severe autoimmune and neurological problems and even death. When

soldiers refuse, the punishment is based solely on the discretion of the

individual commander and could range from quiet discharge to imprisonment or

court-martial.

 

Dr. Meryl Nass, Founder of

AnthraxVaccine.org

As written in a letter by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) to Defense Secretary

Donald H. Rumsfeld:

 

" The apparent absence of an Iraqi biological warfare capability raises serious

questions about the threat of an anthrax attack against our troops. The use of a

vaccination which appears to have the potential for serious health consequences

for our troops in an effort to counter a threat that may not exist seems to

unnecessarily expose our troops to risk. "

 

There is no evidence that stockpiles of anthrax exist in Iraq, but the Pentagon

requires soldiers who will be deployed for more than 15 days to a " high-risk "

area for anthrax attack to receive the vaccine.

 

Nonetheless, many soldiers are refusing the vaccine, and there is so much demand

for troops that unvaccinated soldiers may still be deployed. However, most will

face punishment for disobeying orders upon their return. Further, there is much

controversy over whether the Pentagon’s reports of how many soldiers have

“separated” from the military for refusing vaccinations are accurate. The

Pentagon reported only three separations for 2001 and 2002, but vaccine

opponents say the number is much higher.

 

Washington Post March 27, 2004

 

 

 

Comment By Dr. Meryl Nass:

 

Two probing articles, excerpted above from the Washington Post, and another from

the Chicago Tribune (registration required), have discussed problems with the

military's anthrax vaccine program, and a new request for bids by the Department

of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to purchase 75 million doses of anthrax

vaccine for civilians.

 

Both Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and soldiers have pointed out that in the

absence of any documented threat, there is little reason to risk potentially

serious health consequences from an untested vaccine.

 

 

 

According to the Tribune, " Published case reports have linked anthrax vaccine to

a host of problems including chronic fatiguing illnesses, chronic pain

syndromes, and endocrine and autoimmune disorders. "

 

 

 

Even Army Surgeon General Peake, responsible for the military vaccine program,

acknowledged in February 2004 that some serious illnesses in soldiers may be

linked to vaccines, and urged military doctors to seek second opinions from

vaccine experts within the military, when patients do not respond to initial

treatment.

 

 

 

In the rush to purchase smallpox vaccine after September 11, 2001, DHHS

contracted for 209 million doses, for a total cost of $850 million. In 2003, the

virus in the vaccine was found to cause serious heart problems and some deaths

in 38,000 civilian health care workers who had volunteered to receive the

vaccine, effectively ending the civilian vaccination program.

 

 

 

The Tribune article notes that:

 

 

 

" Some skeptics are questioning what they perceive as the rush by the government

to buy several million doses of the new anthrax vaccine before clinical trials

are completed and its safety and effectiveness evaluated.”

 

The new anthrax vaccine has only completed Phase I tests. Yet “ …many things are

dropped much later as a result of Phase 3 testing--like VaxGen's AIDS vaccine.

Nothing should be purchased in bulk at this very early stage of testing. "

 

And, " more promising anthrax vaccines are in the pipeline, but they may fail to

attract commercial developers because the government has already made up its

mind, some experts contend. "

 

“Furthermore, there is no evidence to support the government's assertion that by

vaccinating the population of an anthrax-infected city, its inhabitants could

continue to live there safely, despite continual exposure.”

 

 

 

According to the Post:

 

 

 

" Pentagon officials seemed poised to stop the (anthrax) program before the

September 11, 2001 attacks gave it a reprieve. "

 

 

 

Current government officials appear to have taken note of this, acknowledging

that a " threat " is needed in order to get the Senate to pass Project Bioshield,

a multibillion-dollar program to fund drug and vaccine treatments for

bioterrorism. The following excerpts come from a March 24, 2004 Homeland

Security Appropriations hearing, in which Undersecretary Mike Brown of the

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) responded to the committee:

 

 

 

BROWN: I think, in all honesty, sir, we're going to have to go to the Senate and

we're going to have to say we have a threat. We have to create this--as you call

it--a marketplace for these particular pharmaceuticals and we need your

authorization to get this done …

 

 

 

Another surprise is that although the Department of Health and Human Services

has requested bids for 75 million doses of untested anthrax vaccine (at a cost

estimated at $1.4 billion), Project Bioshield has not been passed by the Senate,

and there is no approved funding for the vaccine purchase.

 

 

 

During the same hearing, Congressman Zach Wamp (R-Tennessee) inquired of

Undersecretary Brown about this:

 

 

 

WAMP: But I want to ask you, without Project BioShield being enacted and

authorized, is that slowing down your responsibilities of filling up the

Strategic National Stockpile?

 

BROWN: No, sir. And we're using--we're trying to use good lawyering and good

reading of report language and other things to continue to make that happen. HHS

is moving forward on request for additional anthrax antibodies. And no contracts

have been let yet. But those requests have gone out, and HHS will start looking

at those. So I hope that we can get some authorizing language just to make

things clean.

 

 

 

So " good lawyering and good reading of report language " allow this illegal

procurement, though DHS would still like " some authorizing language just to make

things clean. "

 

 

 

But the fact that Bioshield has not been passed, has not stopped Vice President

Cheney from asking Congress to allow the administration to " advance appropriate "

the remaining $2.5 billion requested for Bioshield through fiscal year 2008

during the current fiscal year:

 

 

Subcommittee Chairman Hal ROGERS (R-Kentucky): Now BioShield--again, you're

asking for us to advance appropriate all $2.5 billion of the remaining monies we

didn't put in in '04. And, you know, we've already covered that ground pretty

thoroughly in previous years. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it, but

there's no way we're going to change, the House is going to change, I think.

It's not going to change its position on all this advance appropriations. We've

gone over this time and again. I've met with the vice president about it

personally. And it just, sort of, is irritating that we keep getting this

advance appropriations request. It's not going to happen. Get a life. So why are

we going over this old ground again? "

 

 

 

The $64,000 question is whether the administration is so interested in the rapid

purchase of huge stockpiles of untested drugs and vaccines, before there has

been a verified threat assessment, and before a scientific assessment of the

drugs' value has been made:

 

 

 

a) To save lives?

b) To give the appearance of being prepared?

c) To secure the benefits of giving highly lucrative government contracts to new

biotech companies?

 

 

 

 

 

About Dr. Meryl Nass

 

Meryl Nass, MD is a practicing physician who is known for investigating the

world's largest anthrax epidemic, which occurred during the Rhodesian Civil War,

and uncovering its cause as biological warfare; for working to strengthen

international controls against the development and use of biological weapons;

and for pointing out that untested drugs and vaccines (such as those for

smallpox and anthrax) have limited effectiveness and cause unexpected illnesses.

 

Dr. Nass has lectured widely, testified before several committees of Congress

and the Institute of Medicine, and been quoted by all major US newspapers and TV

networks, and many international news outlets.

 

Since 9/11, she has pointed out how to deal with an anthrax attack, and

explained that the United States must pursue more creative approaches if it is

to successfully cope with future biological terrorism. Unencumbered by funding

from the government and biodefense industry, she provides the unique perspective

of a well-informed and candid critic of our current approach to bioterrorism.

 

 

 

Related Articles:

 

Anthrax and War: The Marketing of Disaster (Part 1)

 

The Woman Behind The Anthrax Vaccine Exposure

 

The Anthrax Vaccine Saga: How Not to Develop a Vaccine Program

 

US Military Finds That Anthrax Shots May Cause Birth Defects

 

US Congress Told Anthrax Vaccine is Not Safe

 

FDA Accuses Vaccine Manufacturer of Failing to Track Reactions

 

..

 

Meryl Nass, MD

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