Fw: [veterans] Digest (08/17/1999 18:00) (#1999-172) [See Item #3 ???]

[Guest guest]

The Anthrax Vaccine: Safe, Effective and Necessary

>

> By L. Cragin

> Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs

> Special to the American Forces Press Service

>

> One of warfare's guiding principles has always been that a

> weakened enemy is a more easily defeated enemy.

>

> Historically, this principle seems to have had particular

> relevance when it came to biological weapons. The first recorded

> use of biological warfare involved the Romans, who placed animal

> carcasses in the water supplies of their enemies -- an act of

> creative attack that poisoned the water, thinned the

> opposition's ranks and dealt a mortal blow to enemy morale. In

> later centuries, the Tartars took this concept one step further

> by catapulting bodies infected with bubonic plague over the

> walls of besieged cities.

>

> These rudimentary attempts pale in comparison to the ability of

> modern technology to perfect the means and methods of biological

> warfare. As such weapons become more powerful, accurate and

> deadly, and more available and easier to deliver, our military

> personnel are increasingly at risk.

>

> Today, at least 10 countries, including Iraq and North Korea,

> now have -- or are attempting to acquire or produce --

> biological weapons. Within this context, anthrax remains the

> weapon of choice for germ warfare: As Secretary of Defense

> Cohen has said, " It is very easy to weaponize and almost

> always deadly. "

>

> When anthrax is inhaled, death is the predictable outcome for

> those who have not been vaccinated. Once clinical symptoms

> appear, death is assured despite the most heroic, state-of-the-

> art, post-exposure medical intervention and treatment. Death

> from anthrax can be prevented by vaccination -- it provides our

> men and women in uniform with their only chance of survival.

>

> In an effort to protect our military personnel from the anthrax

> threat, the Department of Defense has begun inoculating the

> Total Force with the anthrax vaccine. Over the next seven years,

> 1.4 million active duty personnel and some 900,000 members of

> the Selected Reserve will be immunized.

>

> I have taken four in the series of six anthrax shots as required

> by the Food and Drug Administration for full protection.

> Secretary Cohen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen.

> Hugh Shelton, and numerous other senior military and civilian

> leaders have done the same, and they, too, are on their way to

> full protection against this threat.

>

> The anthrax vaccine has had an excellent safety record since it

> was first licensed and approved by the FDA in 1970. Before

> Secretary Cohen authorized the use of a single dose, he ordered

> supplemental testing of the vaccine, doubly ensuring the

> vaccine's safety and far exceeding any pharmaceutical industry

> standards. Supplemental testing, combined with the ongoing

> supervision of the FDA, demonstrates that the vaccine is safe

> and effective.

>

> In addition, many independent organizations have explicitly

> endorsed the vaccine, including the FDA, the World Health

> Organization, the American Public Health Association, the

> National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of

> Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control, the American

> College of Physicians, and the National Institutes of Health.

>

> As of July 1999, more than 315,000 service members have received

> over 1,013,000 shots. The rate of FDA-reported adverse reactions

> for this vaccine is less than those reported for other vaccines,

> such as typhoid and hepatitis A and B, making this one of the

> safest vaccination programs in history. The department will

> continue to closely monitor any adverse reactions and provide

> appropriate and timely medical evaluation and care.

>

> The Department of Defense is also working closely with the

> BioPort Corp., currently the vaccine's only FDA-licensed

> manufacturer, to ensure the continued sterility, safety, potency

> and purity of the vaccine and to ensure a sufficient supply to

> meet the department's requirements. BioPort purchased the

> anthrax vaccine production facility from the State of Michigan

> in 1998, and since then has upgraded and added to its existing

> facility.

>

> Sending our men and women in uniform into harm's way without

> anthrax protection would deny them the protection they need and

> threaten the critical missions they are called upon to perform.

> Just as we would not send our forces into battle without helmets

> and flak jackets, we cannot send them into an arena unprotected

> from another known threat -- anthrax.

>

> Simply put, if we stop anthrax protection today, we would

> threaten force health protection tomorrow. Secretary Cohen and

> Gen. Shelton said it more succinctly when they recently wrote:

> " Our commanders must know that all, not simply some fraction, of

> their forces are protected from this biologic threat. Soldiers,

> sailors, airmen and Marines fight in teams and they need to know

> that all team members are protected from anthrax. "

>

> Our men and women in uniform are routinely vaccinated against

> many diseases, including tetanus, diphtheria, influenza,

> hepatitis A, measles, mumps, rubella, polio and yellow fever.

> The anthrax vaccine will protect our personnel from another

> disease -- a disease that will kill, a disease that can be used

> as a weapon. So what we are doing today is no different from

> what we have always tried to do: We are taking prudent measures

> to protect the Total Force.

>

> The anthrax protection program is the right course of action and

> the most effective way to counter this lethal threat. The

> vaccine is safe, effective, FDA-licensed and essential for

> protecting all our personnel -- active duty, National Guard and

> Reserve.

>

> If you have questions, ask your commanders or medical personnel;

> go to the department's official anthrax Web site at:

> www.anthrax.osd.mil; or call the new anthrax hot line at 1-877-

> GETVACC.

>

> Above all, understand the basic facts: Anthrax kills,

> vaccination protects.

>

> ##END##

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>

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>

>

[Guest guest]

I'm sure you all saw this message on the list. I thought I would make a few

modifications, for the sake of education. My comments will be highlighted.

No offense Debi.........

> > Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 16:08:00 -0700

> > Subject: The Anthrax Vaccine: Safe, Effective and Necessary

> >

> > By L. Cragin

> > Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs

> > Special to the American Forces Press Service

> >

> > One of warfare's guiding principles has always been that a

> > weakened enemy is a more easily defeated enemy.

> >

> > Historically, this principle seems to have had particular

> > relevance when it came to biological weapons. The first recorded

> > use of biological warfare involved the Romans, who placed animal

> > carcasses in the water supplies of their enemies -- an act of

> > creative attack that poisoned the water, thinned the

> > opposition's ranks and dealt a mortal blow to enemy morale. In

> > later centuries, the Tartars took this concept one step further

> > by catapulting bodies infected with bubonic plague over the

> > walls of besieged cities.

> >

> > These rudimentary attempts pale in comparison to the ability of

> > modern technology to perfect the means and methods of biological

> > warfare. As such weapons become more powerful, accurate and

> > deadly, and more available and easier to deliver, our military

> > personnel are increasingly at risk. ****so far so good****

> >

> > Today, at least 10 countries, including Iraq and North Korea,

> > now have -- or are attempting to acquire or produce --

> > biological weapons. Within this context, anthrax remains the

> > weapon of choice for germ warfare: As Secretary of Defense

> > Cohen has said, " It is very easy to weaponize and almost

> > always deadly. " ****Iraq and North Korea have possessed chemical and

>biological weapons for many years. The truth that's really hard to

>swallow, is that the United States government sells chemical and biological

>warfare technology to foreign countries.**** >

> > When anthrax is inhaled, death is the predictable outcome for

> > those who have not been vaccinated. Once clinical symptoms

> > appear, death is assured despite the most heroic, state-of-the-

> > art, post-exposure medical intervention and treatment. Death

> > from anthrax can be prevented by vaccination -- it provides our

> > men and women in uniform with their only chance of survival.

****This is where it gets complicated. The vaccine that was approved thirty

years ago was designed for cutaneous anthrax. It was not designed for the

inhalation form of anthrax, nor was it tested for such! To further prove

the DOD's uncertainty about the vaccine's effectiveness, look at the number

of doses. In the Gulf War, servicemembers who received the vaccine were

given TWO shots. Today, SIX shots are required; furthermore, if a Gulf

veteran received the shots back in the war, he/she is required to take the

entire new SIX shot series. The really scary part is that we

(servicemembers) received a shot that was said to be anthrax, but it was not

documented in our records (as required by law). It seems to me that the DOD

is not sure how many vaccinations will protect; two, six, eight, where does

it end? Not knowing leads me to believe that the vaccine is still

" EXPERIMENTAL!!!! " ****

> >

> > In an effort to protect our military personnel from the anthrax

> > threat, the Department of Defense has begun inoculating the

> > Total Force with the anthrax vaccine. Over the next seven years,

> > 1.4 million active duty personnel and some 900,000 members of

> > the Selected Reserve will be immunized.

> >

> > I have taken four in the series of six anthrax shots as required

> > by the Food and Drug Administration for full protection.

> > Secretary Cohen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen.

> > Hugh Shelton, and numerous other senior military and civilian

> > leaders have done the same, and they, too, are on their way to

> > full protection against this threat.

> >

> > The anthrax vaccine has had an excellent safety record since it

> > was first licensed and approved by the FDA in 1970. Before

> > Secretary Cohen authorized the use of a single dose, he ordered

> > supplemental testing of the vaccine, doubly ensuring the

> > vaccine's safety and far exceeding any pharmaceutical industry

> > standards. Supplemental testing, combined with the ongoing

> > supervision of the FDA, demonstrates that the vaccine is safe

> > and effective. ****The anthrax has an excellent safety record because

>it was used in only a few thousand people over the past thirty years. Most

>of those people were industry workers who had little access to good medical

>care; thus preventing any follow-up on side effects. Not to mention,

>there have been no studies about the vaccine's carcinogenic effects on

>humans!! It says so right in the vaccine insert! ****

> >

> > In addition, many independent organizations have explicitly

> > endorsed the vaccine, including the FDA, the World Health

> > Organization, the American Public Health Association, the

> > National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of

> > Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control, the American

> > College of Physicians, and the National Institutes of Health.

**** Of course these organizations have indorsed it; They stand to make

billions off of the production, sell, administration, and the treatment of

those who fall ill as a result of it.****

> >

> > As of July 1999, more than 315,000 service members have received

> > over 1,013,000 shots. The rate of FDA-reported adverse reactions

> > for this vaccine is less than those reported for other vaccines,

> > such as typhoid and hepatitis A and B, making this one of the

> > safest vaccination programs in history. The department will

> > continue to closely monitor any adverse reactions and provide

> > appropriate and timely medical evaluation and care.****Talk about

>misinformation, the Government Accounting Office has already proven that VA

>doctors are not trained to diagnose the symptoms. The TWO toxicologist

>that are on the VA payroll, work in labratories, not in the feild where

>their expertise is really needed.****

> >

> > The Department of Defense is also working closely with the

> > BioPort Corp., currently the vaccine's only FDA-licensed

> > manufacturer, to ensure the continued sterility, safety, potency

> > and purity of the vaccine and to ensure a sufficient supply to

> > meet the department's requirements. BioPort purchased the

> > anthrax vaccine production facility from the State of Michigan

> > in 1998, and since then has upgraded and added to its existing

> > facility. **** Please, the FDA has sighted BIOPORT (Michigan Biological

>Products Institute) for " grossly inadequate quality control. " See the FDA

>inspections reports. The place is a Rat Trap. The FDA was planning to shut

>down the plant until the DOD came across some extra tax payer money and

>used it to remodel a private facility. Something that is not the

>responsibility of the tax payers.****

> >

> > Sending our men and women in uniform into harm's way without

> > anthrax protection would deny them the protection they need and

> > threaten the critical missions they are called upon to perform.

> > Just as we would not send our forces into battle without helmets

> > and flak jackets, we cannot send them into an arena unprotected

> > from another known threat -- anthrax.

> >

> > Simply put, if we stop anthrax protection today, we would

> > threaten force health protection tomorrow. Secretary Cohen and

> > Gen. Shelton said it more succinctly when they recently wrote:

> > " Our commanders must know that all, not simply some fraction, of

> > their forces are protected from this biologic threat. Soldiers,

> > sailors, airmen and Marines fight in teams and they need to know

> > that all team members are protected from anthrax. "

****Anthrax is not the only threat!!! There are literally hundreds of easy

to produce and ditribute bio's. Does that mean that we will be vaccinated

against all of them. Where does it stop? Will I need hundreds of

vaccinations next year? Why don't they just send me to the hospital, take

out my blood and fill my body with chemicals. That should work against all

of the threats. ****

> >

> > Our men and women in uniform are routinely vaccinated against

> > many diseases, including tetanus, diphtheria, influenza,

> > hepatitis A, measles, mumps, rubella, polio and yellow fever.

> > The anthrax vaccine will protect our personnel from another

> > disease -- a disease that will kill, a disease that can be used

> > as a weapon. So what we are doing today is no different from

> > what we have always tried to do: We are taking prudent measures

> > to protect the Total Force.

> >

> > The anthrax protection program is the right course of action and

> > the most effective way to counter this lethal threat. The

> > vaccine is safe, effective, FDA-licensed and essential for

> > protecting all our personnel -- active duty, National Guard and

> > Reserve. **** NOT ****

> >

> > If you have questions, ask your commanders or medical personnel;

> > go to the department's official anthrax Web site at:

> > www.anthrax.osd.mil; or call the new anthrax hot line at 1-877-

> > GETVACC. **** I have spoken with my commander and my flight surgeon,

>they don't know anything about anthrax. Most military people know about as

>much as you do, and that's not much..........

> >

> > Above all, understand the basic facts: Anthrax kills,

> > vaccination protects. **** Anthrax can kill, you actually got that one

>right. However, the vaccine protection part is still up in the air. If

>someone would do their homework, they might know that. Try doing some

>reasearch, real research, and don't look on the DOD web sights. Of course

>they say it's safe. They're not stupid.****

Sorry about typo's.

Debi, I hope you have the opportunity to look further into this.

DAVE