Heeding court order, Pentagon halts anthrax shots
 |
Story Tools
|
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The Pentagon defended the safety, effectiveness and necessity of the anthrax vaccine it has made mandatory for U.S. troops on Tuesday, but stopped administering it one day after a judge ordered an end to the inoculations without the consent of service members.
In a statement issued late on Tuesday, the Department of Defense said, "The Department will stop giving anthrax vaccinations until the legal situation is clarified."
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan issued an order prohibiting mandatory anthrax inoculations until a trial can be held on a lawsuit filed by six unnamed troops and Pentagon civilian workers who challenged the policy.
A senior defense official earlier on Tuesday had said the department was proceeding with the vaccinations but on a voluntary basis and said that perhaps hundreds of troops had received the shots on Tuesday.
|
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
|
Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.
Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions.
|
|
The Pentagon said it gives the shots to protect troops against the use of anthrax bacterial spores as a biological weapon.
Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, stressed the military necessity of providing this protection for American troops on the battlefield.
Hundreds of troops have been punished for declining to take the anthrax shots due to concern about possible negative side effects, many facing court-martial.
Sullivan accepted the plaintiffs' contention that the vaccine is an experimental drug being employed for an unapproved use: protecting against potentially deadly exposure to airborne anthrax spores as well as less-hazardous exposure through the skin.
The judge wrote that without informed consent or a presidential order, the Pentagon cannot require that troops "serve as guinea pigs for experimental drugs."
"We do not use service members as guinea pigs," William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, told a Pentagon briefing.
'We stand behind this program'
In a separate briefing, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called the guinea pig comparison "inaccurate," and said Bush administration lawyers were reviewing the judge's opinion before deciding on how to proceed.
Winkenwerder said Sullivan was factually wrong when he determined that the vaccine is an experimental drug.
"We stand behind this program," Winkenwerder added.
"Everything we do is guided solely by the best scientific information available, by independent review by outside experts, and by regulation by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and other legal authorities. The anthrax vaccine is safe and effective, and it's been licensed by the FDA since 1970."
Winkenwerder said about 1 million service members have been vaccinated since the program started in 1998. He said hundreds of troops refused the vaccine in the period before the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, but only about 10 have refused to take the shots since then.
He said that "our service members support the vaccine program and accept it, and our refusal rate is very, very, very small."
Myers said that the possible use of weaponized anthrax against U.S. forces remains "a worry in many parts of the world." Myers added, "From a military standpoint, I think it's very important we have this capability to protect our troops and enable them to do their job."
Copyright 2003
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
