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Archives | (May 2001)
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The Anthrax Vaccine: Making Our Soldiers Guinea Pigs Part One
------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 1 of 6 Arlington cemetery is a solemn place. Row upon row of white markers stand in silent testimony to the sacrifice that has kept America free. From the desperate winter at Valley Forge to the burning heat of the Kuwaiti desert, citizen-soldiers have placed themselves in harm’s way to defend our nation. They did so willingly, in full knowledge that they might have to pay the ultimate price. Despite this knowledge, they chose to subordinate their own safety and well being to the greater good. Their country called and they answered. Today, our brave young men and women are again being called to service and are again answering that call. As in times past, they do so in full understanding of the risks they face – at least on the battlefield. There is, however, another risk America’s citizen-soldiers may face. But it is not a risk posed by some fanatical enemy or foreign power. It is a risk that comes from the end of a needle – ironically a needle that is supposed to provide protection from a battlefield threat. It is the risk posed by the anthrax vaccine. Over the next few months, as many as 400,000 American military personnel may be initiating the six shot anthrax immunization regimen. Department of Defense officials insist that the so-called Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program or AVIP is a necessary precaution to protect our troops from the threat of an attack with the deadly virus. More important, they have consistently claimed that it is safe. But is it? Many members of the armed forces don’t think so. In fact over 440 of them have faced judicial action rather than take the vaccine. They may be right. Even as the Department of Defense insists the vaccine is safe, evidence is mounting to challenge that conclusion – evidence from their own studies. One study of soldiers at Ft. Bragg, N.C. found that 44 percent of those vaccinated suffered an adverse reaction. Another study conducted at a U.S. facility in Korea found that between 72 percent and 74 percent of women who received the vaccine suffered an adverse event and that between 42 percent and 44 percent of men who were vaccinated had such a reaction. |
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