Biden, Carper, Castle want answers/ Anthrax vaccine

[Guest guest]

> DARocksMom

> Tue, 12 Oct 2004 17:04:23 EDT

> Biden, Carper, Castle want answers/ Anthrax

> vaccine

 

>

>

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2004/10/12biden,carper,ca.html

>

>

> Biden, Carper, Castle want answers

> Delegation asks military to investigate whether

> pilots, crews used as guinea

> pigs

> By LEE WILLIAMS and HIRAN RATNAYAKE

> The News Journal

> 10/12/2004

>

> Delaware's congressional delegation on Monday called

> on military officials to

> investigate whether the Defense Department used

> troops as guinea pigs to test

> illegal anthrax vaccinations at the Dover Air Force

> Base in 1999.

>

> Sen. Joe Biden, Sen. Tom Carper and Rep. Mike Castle

> said they will send a

> letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld

> asking him to look into the

> allegations. They also said an outside investigation

> may be necessary.

>

> The News Journal reported Sunday that former base

> commander Col. Felix

> Grieder concluded after years of investigation that

> his troops were the subject of

> illegal experiments in Dover. The troops received

> anthrax vaccine that may have

> contained squalene. Some experts say even trace

> amounts of squalene can suppre

> ss the human immune system, causing arthritis,

> neurological problems, memory

> loss and incapacitating migraine headaches.

>

> The military has secretly experimented with squalene

> to test its ability to

> boost the effect of some vaccines. But the military

> denies it tested squalene

> in Dover and has said any contamination in the

> vaccine must have occurred

> accidentally.

>

> " If it was intentional, I want to see people go to

> jail, " Biden said. " I am

> outraged if it's intentional. "

>

> In addition to the letter to Rumsfeld, Biden wants

> investigations by the

> House and Senate Armed Services Committees and the

> Government Accountability

> Office.

>

> " I want to know, if it was intentional, what

> compensation will take place;

> and if it was negligence, who was responsible and

> what the federal government

> will do, " Biden said.

>

> Castle said an independent investigation by a

> presidential or legislative

> commission may be necessary.

>

> " We may need to appoint individuals with medical

> knowledge and no vested

> interest, " Castle said. " We may need an outside

> agency beyond the military. "

>

> Carper said, " It may well also be prudent to ask for

> an independent

> investigation by the GAO, as well as by the House

> and Senate Armed Services Committees.

> The bottom line is we need to take these allegations

> seriously and follow up

> diligently, and we will. "

>

> Ex-pilot wants action

>

> Col. Jay Lacklen, a retired Dover pilot who has

> spearheaded a public

> awareness campaign about problems at Dover, has seen

> congressional hearings focused on

> problems with the anthrax vaccine. Despite huge

> staffs, subpoena power and

> congressional prestige, the hearings accomplished

> little, Lacklen said.

>

> " Now, if they go in armed with the questions they

> really need, such as

> squalene, and if they can just make someone talk,

> I'll be happy, " said Lacklen, who

> suffers from debilitating arthritis he believes was

> caused by squalene in the

> anthrax vaccine he received.

>

> Problems began at Dover in May 1999, after some

> troops in their 20s and 30s

> began developing illnesses normally associated with

> old age.

>

> Grieder, the former base commander, halted the

> vaccination program, a move he

> said brought an end to his military career.

> Subsequent testing by the Food

> and Drug Administration detected squalene in varying

> amounts in the vaccine. The

> substance was detected in all the vaccine sent to

> Dover, but not in vaccine

> sent to other military installations. The military

> no longer tests for

> squalene.

>

> " In my opinion, there was illegal medical

> experimentation going on, " Grieder,

> who lives in Texas, told The News Journal.

>

> The military has said it suspects that the FDA

> conducted faulty tests and

> that the vaccine contained no squalene. It also

> contends that the amounts of

> squalene the FDA said were contained in the vaccine

> would have been too small to

> affect human health.

>

> However, a group of civilian scientists led by

> Pamela Asa of Tulane

> University has conducted two studies that found

> evidence of squalene injections in the

> blood of troops. The scientists also say trace

> amounts can cause harm.

>

> Castle said he was struck by the age of the troops

> reporting medical issues

> they said were caused by the anthrax vaccine.

>

> " I am very concerned about the young people getting

> this, " Castle said.

> " We're dealing with fit individuals in the military.

> Secondly, they're used to

> hardships. If they say they're sick, it's very

> real. "

>

> History of secret tests

>

> Government officials have acknowledged that the

> Department of Defense

> secretly tested squalene on human beings in

> Thailand. Grieder believes they did the

> same in Dover. In a March 1999 report, the GAO

> accused the Defense Department

> of a " pattern of deception " and said the military

> confirmed human tests

> involving squalene only after investigators found

> out about them.

>

> The Defense Department made anthrax inoculations

> mandatory for all

> active-duty military personnel in 1998. The

> immunization order remains in effect today,

> and more than 1.9 million troops have received the

> inoculations.

>

> Officials at Dover Air Force Base and at military

> offices in Washington were

> unavailable Monday because offices were closed for

> Columbus Day.

>

> Contact investigative reporter Lee Williams at

> 324-2362 or

> lwilliams. Contact Hiran

> Ratnayake at 324-2547 or

> hratnayake.

>