Tiassa
12-26-03, 02:32 AM
Two links to start:
(1) Shanker, Tom. "Anthrax shots to be voluntary." New York Times, December 24, 2003. See http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/1203/24anthrax.html
(2) "Give It A Shot." Fayetteville Observer, Decemer 26, 2003. See http://www.fayettevillenc.com/story.php?Template=opinion&Story=6079440
And now a couple of excerpts: The Pentagon will administer the anthrax vaccine, but only on a voluntary basis, while the federal government considers its response to a U.S. District Court ruling that military personnel cannot be forced to take the vaccine, senior Defense Department officials said Tuesday.
The military's most senior officer, Gen. Richard Myers, defended the use of the anthrax vaccine as essential to safeguarding troops facing adversaries who may attack with unconventional weapons.
"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," Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a news briefing . . . .
. . . . On Monday, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan issued a preliminary injunction halting the Pentagon from "inoculating service members without their consent." He ruled that the vaccine used in the Pentagon's mandatory program was "an investigational drug," being used for an unapproved purpose.
The judge sided with arguments that the vaccine was licensed to protect against skin exposure to anthrax but not against anthrax that is inhaled.
Late Tuesday, Justice Department officials said that no decisions had yet been made on the government's legal response. (1)
Anthrax protection has become such a headache for the military that a federal judge's decision to stop the Pentagon from ordering immunizations should come as a relief.
The Department of Defense should leave his decision unchallenged. It's a no-win argument. The public debate about the vaccine long ago left the realm of reasonable concern and entered the bizarre.
In his ruling, the judge said American soldiers should not be used as "guinea pigs for experimental drugs." Although he based his ruling on law, his words are an exaggeration . . . .
. . . . At best, the vaccine offers some protection. At worst, it offers no protection and puts troops at risk of side effects.
Regardless, this battle is no longer worth fighting.
Web sites veer easily from facts to rumors about the vaccine. Groups that protest the use of all inoculations, even routine vaccines against illnesses that once were leading killers of children, jumped aboard. Conspiracy theorists inflamed all fears. (2)It's an interesting story, but I admit that it sounds odd to me from the outset insofar as I'm probably going to have to read a transcript of the proceedings that I won't have access to in order to figure out which of my speculations is closest to what's actually going on.
(1) Shanker, Tom. "Anthrax shots to be voluntary." New York Times, December 24, 2003. See http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/1203/24anthrax.html
(2) "Give It A Shot." Fayetteville Observer, Decemer 26, 2003. See http://www.fayettevillenc.com/story.php?Template=opinion&Story=6079440
And now a couple of excerpts: The Pentagon will administer the anthrax vaccine, but only on a voluntary basis, while the federal government considers its response to a U.S. District Court ruling that military personnel cannot be forced to take the vaccine, senior Defense Department officials said Tuesday.
The military's most senior officer, Gen. Richard Myers, defended the use of the anthrax vaccine as essential to safeguarding troops facing adversaries who may attack with unconventional weapons.
"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," Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a news briefing . . . .
. . . . On Monday, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan issued a preliminary injunction halting the Pentagon from "inoculating service members without their consent." He ruled that the vaccine used in the Pentagon's mandatory program was "an investigational drug," being used for an unapproved purpose.
The judge sided with arguments that the vaccine was licensed to protect against skin exposure to anthrax but not against anthrax that is inhaled.
Late Tuesday, Justice Department officials said that no decisions had yet been made on the government's legal response. (1)
Anthrax protection has become such a headache for the military that a federal judge's decision to stop the Pentagon from ordering immunizations should come as a relief.
The Department of Defense should leave his decision unchallenged. It's a no-win argument. The public debate about the vaccine long ago left the realm of reasonable concern and entered the bizarre.
In his ruling, the judge said American soldiers should not be used as "guinea pigs for experimental drugs." Although he based his ruling on law, his words are an exaggeration . . . .
. . . . At best, the vaccine offers some protection. At worst, it offers no protection and puts troops at risk of side effects.
Regardless, this battle is no longer worth fighting.
Web sites veer easily from facts to rumors about the vaccine. Groups that protest the use of all inoculations, even routine vaccines against illnesses that once were leading killers of children, jumped aboard. Conspiracy theorists inflamed all fears. (2)It's an interesting story, but I admit that it sounds odd to me from the outset insofar as I'm probably going to have to read a transcript of the proceedings that I won't have access to in order to figure out which of my speculations is closest to what's actually going on.