| News... |
Gulf War illness is real, new federal report says
by Alan Silverleib -
CNN - Monday November 17, 2008
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An extensive federal report released Monday concludes that roughly one in four of the 697,000 U.S. veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War suffer from Gulf War illness.
That illness is a condition now identified as the likely consequence of exposure to toxic chemicals, including pesticides and a drug administered to protect troops against nerve gas.
The 452-page report states that "scientific evidence leaves no question that Gulf War illness is a real condition with real causes and serious consequences for affected veterans."
The report, compiled by a panel of scientific experts and veterans serving on the congressionally mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses, fails to identify any cure for the malady.
It also notes that few veterans afflicted with Gulf War illness have recovered over time.
Commentary:
This reports concludes that there is no clear evidence that the anthrax vaccine is a cause of Gulf War Syndrome. The bad news is that when you combine the debilitating side effects of the anthrax vaccine with Gulf War Syndrome, then you have super-sick service members. It would be better if those sick from the anthrax vaccine were linked in; then they might finally get the medical benefits they deserve, too.
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Gulf War illness is real, new federal report says
by Alan Silverleib -
CNN - Monday November 17, 2008
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An extensive federal report released Monday concludes that roughly one in four of the 697,000 U.S. veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War suffer from Gulf War illness.
That illness is a condition now identified as the likely consequence of exposure to toxic chemicals, including pesticides and a drug administered to protect troops against nerve gas.
The 452-page report states that "scientific evidence leaves no question that Gulf War illness is a real condition with real causes and serious consequences for affected veterans."
The report, compiled by a panel of scientific experts and veterans serving on the congressionally mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses, fails to identify any cure for the malady.
It also notes that few veterans afflicted with Gulf War illness have recovered over time.
Commentary:
This reports concludes that there is no clear evidence that the anthrax vaccine is a cause of Gulf War Syndrome. The bad news is that when you combine the debilitating side effects of the anthrax vaccine with Gulf War Syndrome, then you have super-sick service members. It would be better if those sick from the anthrax vaccine were linked in; then they might finally get the medical benefits they deserve, too.
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HHS limits anthrax vaccine legal liability
by Elaine M. Grossman, Global Security Newswire -
Government Executive.com - Monday October 20, 2008
The Health and Human Services Department early this month moved to shield government, industry and business officials from lawsuits filed by those who have received the anthrax vaccine.
Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt established legal immunity for public and private officials who oversee the production or distribution of the anthrax vaccine by declaring a "public health emergency" due to the risk of a bioterrorism attack. He said the emergency began on Oct. 1 and would run through Dec. 31, 2015.
U.S. law provides protection from lawsuits to individuals responsible for selected countermeasures, including antibiotics, during a declared emergency.
Commentary:
Further quote: "The ramifications, in this instance, could be to prevent individuals who have received one or more anthrax inoculation from taking grievances to court, based on claims that the vaccine caused severe adverse reactions or did not work."
Not that service members or veterns could take anything to court anyway under the long shadow of the Feres Doctrine. . .
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Attorney general turns up heat in seeking promotion for Guard officer
by Thomas D. Williams -
Journal Inquirer (North Central Connecticut) - Saturday October 04, 2008
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal last week sent another letter to Gov. Jodi Rell asking her to posthumously promote former Air Force National Guard officer Russell Dingle of East Hartford.
Blumenthal sent the letter Sept. 26, two days after a story in the Journal Inquirer cited evidence that Dingle was forced to resign from the National Guard in 1999 after he disputed the militarys policy concerning mandatory anthrax vaccinations.
Christopher Cooper, Rells spokesman, said the governor is out of town until Monday, so there is no immediate comment on the letter.
Dingles resignation followed a Guard investigation he led into the militarys mandatory anthrax vaccinations. The investigation concluded that the anthrax vaccine the military was requiring was improperly licensed and potentially unsafe. Dingle and seven others refused to take the vaccine ordered by the Guard, citing the inquirys conclusions that it could cause serious adverse reactions.
<...
Commentary:
The research which Lt. Col. Dingle and then-Major Thomas Rempfer did on the anthrax vaccine can be found on this web site under the Pilots' Corner link.
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| Press
Room... |
7-year anthrax emergency declared along with vaccine/remedy immunity
Monday October 20, 2008
But Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and some other Democrats, along with consumer groups such as Public Citizen, derided the liability provision as a g...
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"All the Way Home" move trailer; movie to be shown in Congress Wednesday, July 23
Monday July 21, 2008
"All the Way Home," a movie featuring our own Vance Wasden, long disabled from the anthrax vaccine, and other disabled vets on the outdoor experience of a lifetime, will be shown in Congress this Wednesday, July 23, and later to the VA with future distribution via cable channels. Stay tuned, and enjoy the trailer!! You can also order the full DVD from this site.
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Bill in Congress Needs Leaders, Support, to overcome Feres Doctrine
Monday June 09, 2008
5/20/2008--Introduced.
Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Accountability Act of 2008 - Amends the Federal Tort
Claims Act to allow claims...
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| Anthrax
Vaccine Fast Facts ... |
Federal
Court Ruling: "The involuntary anthrax vaccination program,
as applied to all persons, is rendered illegal absent informed
consent or a Presidential waiver." Click
here for Judge Emmet Sullivan's decision.
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Congressional
General Accounting Office (GAO) Findings on the Safety and
Efficacy of the Anthrax Vaccine. NSIAD-00-54R
-- Abstract
-- "The long-term safety of the vaccine has not been studied"
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GAO
-- Medical Readiness: Safety and Efficacy of the Anthrax
Vaccine. T-NSIAD-99-148
-- Abstract
-- "The nature and magnitude of the military threat of biological
warfare (BW) has not changed since 1990"
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Hypersensitivity
Pneumonitis Following Anthrax Vaccination by LT Suzanne
J. Timmer, MD, MC,USNR; CAPT Dennis E. - Chest Online by
American College of Chest Physicians
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Anthrax
Vaccine: GAO's Survey of Guard and Reserve Pilots and Aircrew.
GAO-02-445
-- Abstract
-- "systemic reaction rate reported through the survey represents
a level more than a hundred times higher than the 0.2 percent
published in the product insert."
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| Leaders
Speak Out ... |
Presidential
Candidate George W. Bush, US Medicine. Sep. 2000:
"The Defense Department's Anthrax Immunization Program
has raised numerous health concerns and caused fear among
the individuals whose lives it touches. I don't feel the
[Clinton] administration's anthrax immunization program
has taken into account the effect of this program on the
soldiers in our military and their families. Under my administration,
soldiers and their families will be taken into consideration."
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Presidential
Candidate Sen. John McCain, San Diego Union Tribune. Feb.
26, 2000:
"I think that there should be a pause. I think that
they have not done the job in educating the members of the
military, and I would pause and I would get the best scientific
and medical people together and make a better argument than
they've made ... I'm not saying that I know enough to say
that it should never be, but right now members of the armed
services, the Guard and reserves are not accepting it."
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Defense
Secretary Rumsfeld, Pentagon News Briefings, Oct. 18, 2001:
"We're going to try and save it. There have been other
efforts that have failed over a period of years. And it
may or may not be savable ... it's not very well underway,
as you point out ... they have not been approved by the
FDA, as I understand it. They do not have what looks to
be -- well, I shouldn't be characterizing a private entity
that way, but things have not been going swimmingly for
them ..."
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Defense
Secretary Rumsfeld, Pentagon News Briefings, October 25,
2001:
Q: Are you taking the anthrax vaccine, Mr. Secretary?
Secretary Rumsfeld: No.
Q: You're not being inoculated; you're not taking a series.
Secretary Rumsfeld: No. No.
Q: All right. No vaccine.
Secretary Rumsfeld: No, no, no.
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Defense
Secretary Rumsfeld, Pentagon News Briefings, October 28,
2001:
Q: Okay. Mr. Secretary, have you been vaccinated against
anthrax?
Secretary Rumsfeld: No. Have you?
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Sen.
Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader, CNN. Dec. 18, 2001:
"The vaccine is a dated vaccine, it's an old vaccine.
There are very real and potentially serious side effects
from the vaccine and anyone who elects to receive the vaccine
needs to be made aware of that. I do not recommend widespread
inoculation for people with the vaccine in the Hart Building
...There are too many side effects and if there is limited
chance of exposure the side effects would far outweigh any
potential advantage."
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Al
Gore, Presidential Candidate, Apr. 11, 2000:
"I feel the concerns are genuine. I also know that
sometimes concerns of this sort are based on confusing data
that is hard to interpret. But based on the concerns I have
heard from military personnel directly, I think we are justified
in taking a closer look -- I think that some increased sensitivity
to the kinds of questions that are being raised is needed."
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