|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
Judge: Military May Resume Anthrax Vaccinations NewsMax.com WiresWASHINGTON – A federal judge issued an order Wednesday that would allow the military to resume anthrax vaccinations, the Department of Justice said. U.S. District Judge Emmit Sullivan issued his decision from the bench, according to department spokesman Charles Miller. Sullivan had stopped the vaccinations on Dec. 22, ruling military personnel should not be used as "guinea pigs for experimental drugs." The Pentagon has not said whether it will resume the vaccinations. Sullivan's order still banned forced vaccination for six military personnel who filed a class-action lawsuit to stop the mandatory anthrax vaccinations that started in 1998. The Food and Drug Administration said on Dec. 30 the vaccine was safe and effective. The Justice Department, citing the FDA's order, had asked Sullivan to set aside his preliminary ban, except for the plaintiffs. Sullivan's action stayed, or halted, the class-action part of the suit. Sullivan said in his original order that he was convinced by the plaintiffs that the vaccine was experimental and being "used for an unapproved purpose," for exposure to airborne anthrax as well as exposure through the skin. The federal government has long maintained that the licensed vaccine is safe, is not experimental and can be used for protection against anthrax inhaled or absorbed. More than 900,000 servicemen and women have received the shots, among the millions of doses of various vaccines administered annually to protect troops against disease and bioterror threats. Hundreds of service members have been punished or discharged for refusing them, according to the Pentagon.
© 2003 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Editor's note: Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: |
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
| All Rights Reserved © 2012 NewsMax.Com |