Gulf veterans allege anthrax vaccine unsafe

LANSING, Mich. -- As the only American manufacturer of an anthrax vaccine prepares for an inspection to decide whether it can be used, people who have long opposed giving the vaccine to U.S. troops are trying to call attention to what they say are its potential dangers. \nAbout 40 demonstrators protested the military's anthrax vaccination program Sunday during rallies at BioPort Corp. and the state Capitol in Lansing. They say the vaccine could be connected to complaints of chronic fatigue, bone and joint pain, memory loss and other problems, and that the military has not done enough to investigate the vaccine's long-term effects or whether it can be given safely with other vaccines. \n"Something is wrong with the vaccine. You don't have to be a scientist to figure it out," said Steve Robinson, a Gulf War veteran who now works for the National Gulf War Resource Center, a veterans group. He said testimony before Congress has proven there are many unanswered questions about the vaccine. \nThe vaccine hasn't been distributed since 1998 because BioPort has failed to win approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. \nIn the past, the FDA has said BioPort was not ensuring that its labs were sterile and properly ventilated. The FDA is scheduled to inspect BioPort again in mid-December, company spokeswoman Kim Brennen Root said Monday. \nIf the FDA approves distribution, the government has said the vaccine will likely go to troops and others at risk for anthrax exposure, including law enforcement and postal workers. \nProtesters say BioPort and the Pentagon are ignoring signs of illness in some of the 500,000 troops who have been vaccinated. But Dr. Tom Waytes, Bioport's medical director, said 18 studies indicate the vaccine is safe. \nWaytes said an independent panel of civilian physicians has reviewed each of the 1,623 reports of adverse reactions to the vaccine. The panel has found no pattern suggesting the vaccine causes more adverse reactions than any other vaccine, he said. \nHe also said hospital records show that troops who have been vaccinated are as healthy in the long term as people who haven't been vaccinated. \nRoot said Monday that it would be at least mid-December before the vaccine could be administered. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson had said on Oct. 23 that BioPort could be providing vaccines to the military by Thanksgiving. \nRoot said BioPort will start a new production cycle later this month. FDA officials will monitor that cycle when they visit in mid-December. \nThe Pentagon originally wanted to vaccinate 2.4 million troops with BioPort's vaccine, but the vaccination program is on hold because of BioPort hasn't been allowed to distribute it without FDA approval. Some service personnel have refused to take the injections because of severe side effects, which the Pentagon says happen about once per 200,000 doses.