Federal judge: Anthrax vaccine not mandatory (Sonnie Bates quoted)

[Guest guest]

Snip: " Officials at the Defense Department and Food and Drug Administration said

they had not seen the ruling and had no immediate comment. But the federal

government has long maintained the licensed vaccine is safe, is not experimental

and can be used for protection against anthrax inhaled or absorbed through the

skin. "

All one has to do is go back prior to the announcement in 1997, and read the

FDA's and DoD's own communication that stated the vaccine was not approved for

inhalation anthrax, to get the grasp, that this vaccine for the intended use as

inhalation anthrax WAS and IS experimental.

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2003/12/23federaljudgeant.html

Federal judge: Anthrax vaccine not mandatory

Troops not meant to be 'guinea pigs'

By PATRICK JACKSON

Dover Bureau reporter

12/23/2003

Saying members of the American armed forces should not be used as " guinea

pigs for experimental drugs, " a federal judge on Monday ordered the Pentagon to

stop mandatory anthrax vaccinations started in 1998.

More than 900,000 servicemen and women have received the shots, among the

millions of doses of various vaccines administered annually to protect troops

against disease and bioterror threats. Hundreds of service members, including

several at Dover Air Force Base, have been punished or discharged for refusing

to receive the shots, according to the Pentagon.

U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said he was persuaded by plaintiffs

in a class-action lawsuit that the vaccine is experimental and being " used for

an unapproved purpose " - that is, for exposure to airborne anthrax as well as

exposure through the skin.

Officials at the Defense Department and Food and Drug Administration said

they had not seen the ruling and had no immediate comment. But the federal

government has long maintained the licensed vaccine is safe, is not experimental

and can be used for protection against anthrax inhaled or absorbed through the

skin.

Anthrax is a naturally occurring virus that typically affects sheep and

cattle. When inhaled, dry anthrax spores can be deadly to humans. The anthrax

vaccine has been approved since the 1970s and used regularly to protect

veterinarians and scientists working with anthrax who might contract it through

the skin.

Sullivan's ruling could be of some help to a former Dover Air Force Base

C-5 pilot who was honorably discharged in 2000 for refusing to be vaccinated.

Former Air Force Maj. Sonnie Bates at one point faced a possible court martial

for his refusal.

A lawsuit challenging the vaccine filed by Bates in the Washington, D.C.,

court in 2001 was dismissed last year. But Sullivan's ruling could provide new

grounds for Bates to seek reinstatement or restoration of the military pension

he lost, said Bates' lawyer Mark Zaid, a Washington attorney also involved in

the lawsuit that led to Sullivan's ruling Monday.

" It's about time, " said Bates, now a civilian pilot. " This may open the

door for the walking wounded from this vaccine to get the health treatments they

need and for some of the younger lieutenants, captains and airmen who had to end

their careers because of this to rejoin the military. "

The case in Monday's ruling was brought on behalf of six unnamed active

members of the military or National Guard, and civilian Department of Defense

employees who had been ordered to take the vaccine. Three of the six plaintiffs

had submitted to part of the six-shot vaccination series while awaiting the

court's ruling.

In a 34-page decision, Sullivan issued a preliminary order barring the

military from forcing troops to take the shots without their consent. Sullivan's

order left room for President Bush to issue an order overriding him while the

lawsuit moves ahead.

" The women and men of our armed forces put their lives on the line every

day to preserve and safeguard the freedoms that all American cherish and enjoy, "

Sullivan wrote. " Absent an informed consent or presidential waiver, the United

States cannot demand that members of the armed forces also serve as guinea pigs

for experiential drugs. "

If Sullivan's ruling is upheld at trial and on appeal, Zaid said it might

give Bates, who served for 13 years, grounds to challenge the Air Force decision

to deny his pension benefits.

Bates was the highest-ranking officer to step down from active duty rather

than take the shots.

Former Defense Secretary Cohen ordered troops to take the shots in

1997 to protect them from the weapons-grade, airborne anthrax the military

thought Iraq had developed.

The Associated Press contributed to this article. Reach at

678-4274 or pjackson@....