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Archives | (July 2001)
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The Anthrax Vaccine: Making Our Soldiers Guinea Pigs Conclusion (cont.)
------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 4 of 8 In the concluding sentence of the GAO rebuttal the investigators exasperation with DOD intransigence became evident: “… it is clear that the losses among the most experienced pilots (in bases where AVIP was implemented) resulting from the change in status were significant at some bases, resulting in the loss of an extremely seasoned workforce.” How much of DOD’s resistance is simply a matter of bureaucratic inertia and how much is due to fears of the potential cost of treating individuals disabled by the anthrax vaccine is uncertain. What is certain, though is that the Department of Defense is simply refusing to acknowledge even the possibility that a problem might exist – a behavior that is reminiscent of DOD’s reaction to the problem of Agent Orange. But is there a real threat to the long-term health of vaccine recipients or is the problem – as DOD contends – overblown? A SMOKING GUN?One sentence, tucked away in the GAO rebuttal, was a bombshell: “Further, several studies in the United States and the United Kingdom now show a relationship between the anthrax vaccine and Gulf War Syndrome.” What makes this sentence so significant is the fact that for years the Department of Defense not only claimed that the anthrax vaccine had no link to Gulf War Syndrome, it insisted that Gulf War Syndrome itself did not exist! Even now, DOD insists that service in the Persian Gulf War created no greater risk to the health of service members than any other conflict. The figures, however, suggest otherwise. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, As of April 2002, 198,716 veterans of the Gulf War have filed claims for disability status for one or more conditions. That amounts to 28 percent of all that served! Of the claims filed, up to that point, 151,031 had been granted. This compares with a disability rate of 8.6 percent for World War II, 5 percent for the Korean Conflict and 9.6 percent for the Vietnam War. Granted, advances in far forward combat casualty care and Medivac capability have greatly increased a soldier’s chance of surviving a wound, but not to the degree reflected in the Gulf War figures. But surviving on the battlefield may not have been enough for many Gulf War Vets. Some 7,758 Desert Storm Veterans have died. This death rate, over 1.1 percent is again remarkable considering the age of most of the conflict’s participants. But why are Gulf War veterans getting sick? |
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