-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/18485.html <A HREF="http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/18485.html">Political News from Wired News</A> ---- Military Vexed by Vaccine Scare by Declan McCullagh 3:00 a.m. 16.Mar.99.PST WASHINGTON -- When the US Defense Department decided to inject every soldier with an anthrax vaccine, officials thought the biggest problem would be time. Over 2 million troops were going to be inoculated in a massive effort expected to last until 2006. That was nearly two years ago. Now the government's biggest problem is the Internet. A network of Web sites and discussion groups warn that the vaccine is not just dangerous, but deadly. "Military personnel MUST refuse to take these vaccinations. If sufficient numbers do, and enough focus is put on this matter, the program will be halted," one well-circulated message on alt.military warns. The note and others like it have spread like the plague. A group of 23 sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier refused to take their shots and were demoted, the Pentagon said Thursday. The day before, the Air Force kicked out a recalcitrant airman. Some officers have resigned rather than take the vaccine. Officials blame the Internet for infecting the rank and file. At a recent press briefing, Pentagon spokesman Mike Doubleday decried "misinformation which is available to people on various Web sites regarding anthrax, and also the anthrax vaccine." That misinformation covers everything from darkling warnings that the vaccine is a UN plot to seize control to claims that it's to blame for the mysterious Gulf War syndrome. After all, many troops sent to the Gulf were immunized with anthrax vaccines. Other rumors insist the vaccine causes cancer or sterility. "Try it with me or my family. You will get the vaccine, rectally," Larry273 wrote on the Usenet discussion group us.military.army. Perhaps what irks Pentagon brass the most is the persistent charge that the sole producer of its anthrax vaccine is guilty of sloppy manufacturing techniques. A US Food and Drug Administration report, available on the Internet, has been repeatedly forwarded as proof positive that the Michigan Biologic Products Institute, a state government agency formerly known as the Michigan Department of Public Health, cannot be trusted. In March 1997, the FDA said it planned to revoke the license of the anthrax producer for a host of alleged misdeeds. Among them: sloppy handling techniques, uncalibrated instruments, and poor quality control. The governor responded with an executive order ordering changes. In April, the FDA again blasted MBPI for "significant deviations" in safe vaccine production and warned that "a lot of work remains to correct the deficiencies." In September, BioPort Corporation was formed to take over the trouble-plagued MBPI. All of this is mostly irrelevant to the Pentagon, which sees the issue in stark terms: Anthrax has a nearly 100 percent fatality rate when inhaled, and vaccines make as much sense as requiring soldiers to wear helmets in battle. Besides, Iraq and other countries have admitted they're stockpiling the stuff. "Perhaps the biggest challenge to the implementation of this program is overcoming misinformation that has linked the anthrax vaccine to well-publicized illnesses affecting some veterans of Operation Desert Storm," Ronald Blanck, the Army's surgeon general, told a Senate armed services subcommittee last week. "This Food and Drug Administration-licensed vaccine has been used safely and effectively for 27 years, primarily with veterinarians. Additionally, various scientific bodies ... have also found it to be safe. Educating service members, their families, and the general public is essential and is an ongoing challenge," Blanck said. Under the military's program, troops will be injected with a series of six 0.5ml shots given over a period of 18 months. Booster shots are required each year. Perhaps realizing a good offense is the best defense, the Pentagon has begun to wage a feverish battle online. The military's official Web site now boasts a list of frequently asked questions in an anthrax special section, including a color photograph of Defense Secretary William Cohen getting his shot, and one of a grim Saddam Hussein. One page argues that MBPI is perfectly safe, but it neglects to link to the FDA's 1997 report that claimed otherwise. Related Wired Links: Sniffing Out Anthrax 17.Jun.98 Sniffing Out Bio Weapons 11.Jun.98 Blunting a 21st-Century Attack 22.May.98 Copyright � 1994-99 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! 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