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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, July 1, 2001

Hawai'i's anthrax program on hold

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Affairs Writer

A Department of Defense decision to scale back its controversial anthrax vaccinations again has left some Hawai'i service members part-way through the six-shot series and has cast further doubt over the program's future.

At one point, the vaccinations were compulsory for all service members. However, the defense department, faced with inadequate supplies of the vaccine, decided last month that the immunizations will continue only for special mission units and research. The sole supplier, BioPort of Lansing Mich., will not provide additional supplies before 2002.

Only about 24,000 doses remain. The vaccines were scaled back last July to troops deploying to areas around Iraq and North Korea. Then, in November, vaccinations for troops headed to Korea were eliminated.

The military says it has enough antibiotics on hand to treat troops if they are attacked with anthrax weapons.

According to Tripler Army Medical Center, if only one shot was received and more than a year passes, the entire series must be restarted. If two or more shots were received, the regimen can continue where it left off.

In Hawai'i, reaction to the policy change has been muted, though greater opposition to the program has developed elsewhere.

More than 450 military personnel worldwide have refused to take the shots because of concern over possible side effects. A class-action lawsuit also is challenging the legality of the program.

Although the military says it continues to believe the vaccine is safe, the latest cutback casts further doubt on the program.

But Hawai'i Air National Guard spokesman Maj. Chuck Anthony said the resistance seen elsewhere hasn't materialized here, and the further reduction has been greeted with little fanfare.

"It doesn't make that much of a difference to most of our folks," Anthony said. "Virtually nobody is talking about it."

Of 2,500 Hawai'i Air National Guard personnel, about 800 received one or more of the series of shots given over 18 months. Anthrax vaccinations were made mandatory for 2.4 million military personnel in 1998.

"We've not had a person stand up, refuse to take the shot, and say hasta la vista," Anthony said. "We have had a couple of people sitting on the fence before. But given the straight scoop from our medical personnel, they've elected to take the shot."

The National Guard has deployed about 290 volunteers since November to monitor the southern no-fly zone in Iraq, and garnered twice as many volunteers as needed, Anthony said. Those individuals knew they would have to take the shots.

If there is an inference to be made, Anthony said, it's that "people in the Air National Guard have gotten the facts, and the facts are, it's a safe vaccine."

There have been two medically certified reactions to the vaccine among Air Guard personnel. Both were rashes that resulted in the series of shots being stopped. Anthony said the reaction rate is lower than the 1.5 percent reaction rate to other vaccines.

However, Guard Lt. Col. Kimo Hussey reported a serious allergic reaction to the shots after retiring last year, as did Dave Dover, a senior airman who decided not to re-enlist after his second shot. Hussey said he suffered abdominal pain, while Dover said he experienced nerve damage in both arms. The Guard disputed the claims.

Service members who refuse to take the anthrax vaccinations are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

At Tripler Army Medical Center, a female staff sergeant who refused the immunization in the summer of 1999 was discharged, officials said.

More than 600 Tripler Army soldiers who have backup duties with the 18th Medical Command in South Korea, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, medics and logistical support personnel, are among those who have received the immunizations.

The most recent statistics on objections to the immunization program among Hawai'i active service members were unavailable from the Department of Defense, but as of early last year, 17 had refused to take the vaccine and five had been discharged.

More than 60 service members worldwide reportedly have faced charges, but statistics are incomplete. According to the defense department, there were no Army courts-martial in 1999 or 2000 from refusals to take the vaccine. There was one Air Force discharge in 1999 and one last year. No statistics were available for the Navy. Three Marines were discharged since 1998 based on vaccination refusals, the defense department said.

"Very few people have refused to take the shot," said Lt. Cmdr. Flex Plexico, a Navy Pacific fleet spokesman.

Two Air Force officers who refused to take the anthrax vaccine filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., claiming it is an experimental drug and requires a soldier's consent before it is administered.

Maj. Sonnie Bates of Delaware was forced to end a 14-year career last year for refusing to take the vaccine, while Capt. John Buck, an Air Force physician in Mississippi, was convicted in a court-martial in May of disobeying an order for not taking the drug. He was fined $1,500 a month for 14 months.

In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it would begin a seven-month study of the vaccine.