MORE......... CBS News -- Judge: U.S. Can't Force Vaccines -- December 22, 2003

[Guest guest]

Dear Family and Friends: (from Rempfer)

First of all, Happy Holidays! Below you'll find a Christmas gift to America's

soldiers!

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" The United States cannot demand that members of the armed forces also serve

as guinea pigs for experimental drugs. "

Judge Emmet G. Sullivan

Note -- Judge Sullivan's decision is at this link:

http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/03-707.pdf

Click here: CBS News | Judge: U.S. Can't Force Vaccines | December 22, 2003

13:49:08

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Also, below is a point - counterpoint essay - Issue Date: December 22, 2003

Should troops get the anthrax vaccination?

The writers are Air Force Reserve officers who were members of a 1998

Connecticut Air National Guard investigative team that helped identify

legal and

ethical issues regarding the anthrax vaccine. Their views do not reflect the

official position of the Defense Department or the Air Force. (For

subscribers

only) Full article below:

Should troops get the anthrax vaccination?

No: Vaccination program rife with unresolved concerns

The writers are Air Force Reserve officers who were members of a 1998

Connecticut Air National Guard investigative team that helped identify

legal and

ethical issues regarding the anthrax vaccine. Their views do not reflect the

official position of the Defense Department or the Air Force.

“Stovepiping†describes a policy-making process lacking rigorous

scrutiny by

the entire chain of command. A recent article by Seymour Hersch in The New

Yorker discussed this concept in relation to Middle East threat assessments.

This type of threat assessment was the foundation of the military’s Anthrax

Vaccine Immunization Program — the epitome of stovepiping. Without proper

staffing or requisite review, the AVIP became a forcewide mandate. Thus, a

known

inadequate, highly reactive and experimental vaccine was used in conflict

with

U.S. law — Title 10, Section 1107 — specifically written to protect our

troops

from experimentation.

The “threat†debate aside, serious, unresolved AVIP concerns exemplify a

stovepiped absence of rigorous scrutiny:

• FDA has acknowledged never legally finalizing the anthrax vaccine license

as required by law.

• Unapproved manufacturing changes before the 1991 Persian Gulf War

rendered

the vaccine adulterated.

• These unapproved changes never were studied as a possible cause of Gulf

War

illness, and the vaccine never was ruled out because records were not kept.

• The General Accounting Office has issued 12 reports concerning the

anthrax

vaccine — all critical. These reports verified the unapproved manufacturing

changes and safety problems.

• Based on a Navy study, the FDA reclassified the vaccine due to the risk

of

birth defects to children of female service members.

• The Defense Department continues to justify punishing, discharging and

imprisoning service members based on a suspect scientific report it funded.

The

fine print of this report acknowledges the vaccine as only “reasonably

safe,â€

and insists a new vaccine is “urgently needed.†President Bush directed

development of this new vaccine in 2002.

• Service members are denied the right to present legal arguments in

courts-martial concerning the illegality of the mandate.

The vaccine also has been linked to serious illnesses and deaths. Army

reservist Spc. Lacy died of a pneumonia-like illness within weeks of

receiving five vaccines, including the anthrax vaccine, one day before

deploying

overseas. The civilian coroner told Air Force Times: “It’s just very

suspicious in

my mind ... that she’s healthy, gets the vaccinations and then dies a

couple

of weeks later.†The death certificate listed “post-vaccine†problems.

Military officials initially tried to deny links between the vaccine and

pneumonia-like symptoms. The Army pharmacist responsible for defending the

AVIP,

who is not a medical doctor, referred to the death as “unexplained,â€

claiming

vaccines are “probably not to blame.†Later, he said vaccines are

“unlikely

to be a factor.â€

Recently, two civilian medical panel reviews forced the Defense Department to

admit the death was “probably†or “possibly†a reaction to

vaccines. The

admissions emerge amid anticipated congressional intervention and parents

of the

victims claiming a cover-up.

The department’s denials are puzzling in light of previous data:

• An Army report showed 17 soldiers died of complications of pneumonia

between 1998 and 2001; 19 more recently have fallen ill, and two of them

have died.

• A testimony to Congress in 1999: “There have been three reports of

serious

illness coincidentally associated with vaccination ... reports involved “

hypersensitivity pneumonia ...â€

• A 1999 Pentagon news conference: “We’ve had one individual we think

may

have a long-term pulmonary problem.â€

• A 2002 medical journal article by three Navy doctors in Cardiopulmonary

and

Critical Care Journal (CHEST) titled “Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis

Following

Anthrax Vaccination.â€

• A 2003 government study on adverse reactions concluded the vaccine was

the “

possible or probable†cause of pneumonia in some service members.

These unresolved issues jeopardize the integrity of future force-protection

programs, injure countless service members and end the careers of many

others.

Failure to properly investigate and reverse the denial and deceit will ensure

the program goes down in the history books with radiation testing, Agent

Orange and Gulf War illness.

Officials should care for the ill properly and correct records of those

punished for refusing the vaccine — and hold accountable those

responsible for

playing loose with the law and our troops’ health.

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Response by DoD's Col. Grabenstein included below ...

Should troops get the anthrax vaccination?

Col. D. Grabenstein, Ph.D., is deputy director for military vaccines,

Office of the Army Surgeon General. (For subscribers only)

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Note: DoD's spokesperson for the illegal AVIP is also the author of the

second article above. Col. Grabenstein had one month to reply to the specific

allegations in the opposing essay, but did not. The USA Today editorial

quote and

link below explains the fine print of the report referenced by Col.

Grabenstein

in order to attempt justifying the program. This quick fix, DoD funded,

scientific report congratulated Col. Grabenstein's assistance in obscuring

the

known problems with the anthrax vaccine.

The 12 DEC 03 USA Today Editorial commented in its printed version (Click

here: Mandatory anthrax shots - USA Today.com 12/12/03) about the March 2002

National Academy of Science report referenced by Col. Grabenstein: " The

federally

chartered Institute of Medicine says too few studies exist to vaccinate the

public. It calls for the development of a better vaccine. "

In his essay, Col. Grabenstein uses the word " continued, " when referring to

FDA licensing -- an example of his continued misleading doublespeak about the

anthrax vaccine. FDA has never issued a final rule for the anthrax vaccine

and

has officially confirmed this fact. " Continued " licensure does not comport

with the requirements of federal regulations. This issue is separate and

distinct

from the illegal experimental mandatory use of the vaccine discussed in

today's Federal Court decision -- (http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/03-707.pdf).

Additional info available at: http://www.milvacs.org/tiger.cfm

Maj. Tom " Buzz " Rempfer, 860-680-8452

PS. Soldiers owe a debt of gratitude to the attorneys who fought for their

rights - Attorneys Michels (also a USAFR JAG) and Zaid (The Madison

Project).