-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- Marine Times Published: 03-20-00 Category: WASHINGTON Page: 20 House Panel Pushes To End Mandatory Anthrax Program By Deborah Funk A House panel pushed forward recommendations to suspend the Pentagon's mandatory anthrax vaccination program, citing concerns of safety and efficacy. By a voice vote March 9, the full Committee on Government Reform adopted the report of its national security subcommittee that, with limited exceptions, would make the program voluntary until a better vaccine is developed. "This program is wrong," said committee chairman Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind. "This vaccine has not been adequately tested. People in the armed forces are being asked to choose between their health, the well-being of their family and their career." Burton and the subcommitte's report questioned whether the vaccine would work in a battlefield situation, particularly against strains of anthrax for which there are no studies with the vaccine. Some service members fear retaliation if they express their concerns or tell their doctors they are ill. Testimony in earlier hearings showed that for every person who reports an adverse reaction, two more do not, Burton said. Burton pointed to cases where troops became ill for long periods of time after receiving the shots, forfeited careers by refusing the vaccine or chose to alter their careers to avoid the injections. The report also raised the issue of the program's vulnerability to supply shortages and price increases because it has only one supplier. The current method of making the licensed vaccine requires a dedicated facility. But a new generation vaccine made with new technology would not require a dedicated facility. Vintage technology The vaccine was licensed in 1970 after being developed in the 1950s and 1960s. It requires a schedule of six shots over 18 months plus annual boosters. "We would not ask our armed forces to fight a battle using rifles and tanks designed in the 1950s. We should not ask them to risk their lives relying on 1950s-vintage medical technology, when modern science has the capacity to produce a safer, more effective vaccine," said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., chairman of the panel's national security subcommittee. Launched two years ago, the anthrax vaccination program is one of the measures the Pentagon is taking to protect U.S. troops against a biological warfare threat. Following last month's release of the subcommittee's report, the Defense Department submitted a 76-page rebuttal. It included Food and Drug Administration testimony that the vaccine is safe and effective. It cited an FDA letter saying the vaccine's label does not prevent the vaccine's use to protect against inhalational anthrax and it is not experimental. Disappointing response In view of the lengthy response to the report, some defense officials were disappointed in the committee's actions, a source said. Not everyone on the committee endorsed all of the recommendations, however. The Government Reform Committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Henry Waxman of California, agreed that a sole source places the program vulnerable to supply shortages and price increases, and that the program's administration is "logistically complex," but he said it is not too complex to succeed. Because committee members are not medical experts, they should defer to the FDA's opinion on safety and efficacy. Committee members also are not experts on the threat, Waxman said. "The anthrax program clearly has problems," Waxman said. "But the anthrax vaccine is one of the few defenses we currently have against this deadly threat. The decision whether to use the vaccine despite its defects or imperfections requires careful balancing of risks and benefits." Despite the committee's adoption of the report, the panel has no legislative authority or budgetary jurisdiction over the Defense Department nor the anthrax vaccination program. The program's oversight rests with the House Armed Services Committee, which so far has supported the program. Copies of the report will be sent to the House Armed Services and Appropriations committees. Informally, it keeps the issue alive before Congress, and just like any other member of Congress, supporters of the report could offer the recommendations as amendments to the defense authorization bill or the appropriations bill. Copyright 2000 Army Times Publishing Company. 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