Editorial

[HARDCORE]

Copyright 2003 News & Record (Greensboro, NC)
News & Record (Greensboro, NC)

December 26, 2003 Friday ALL EDITIONS

SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. A16; EDITORIAL

LENGTH: 332 words

HEADLINE: MILITARY'S ANTHRAX POLICY DESERVED TO BE OVERRULED;
THE PENTAGON SHOULD MAKE AMENDS BY EXONERATING SERVICE MEMBERS WRONGLY PUNISHED FOR REFUSING TO TAKE THE EXPERIMENTAL VACCINE.

BODY:
Administering experimental anthrax vaccine to U.S. troops without their consent amounts to treating them like guinea pigs. A federal judge's ruling correctly halts the inoculations and clearly outlines criteria for compliance.

In light of the decision, the Pentagon now should rescind disciplinary measures against hundreds of active-duty personnel and reservists who refused to take the shots because they were worried about the long-term effects. Their legitimate complaints about the unproven vaccine often resulted in big fines, courts-martial and ruined careers.

Since 1998, more than 900,000 troops have received the shots with few short-term adverse reactions. Even so, the mandatory approach violates a law passed that same year prohibiting use of experimental drugs on military personnel. Fears that similar inoculations contributed heavily to unexplained illnesses among veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War spurred congressional action.

The law prohibits giving new drugs or those unapproved for their intended use to service personnel without consent. The anthrax vaccine falls in that category because the FDA approved it only to protect skin against the virus - not airborne exposure from spores in suspected weapons of mass destruction.

President Bush was vaccinated amid much fanfare, but the campaign to inoculate civilian emergency and health workers failed miserably. Too many questions still linger about the vaccine's safety. Members of the military, however, have had no choice.

The court ruling notes that, if necessary, the president can issue a waiver ordering mandatory compliance. For now, the military situation in Iraq doesn't justify it. Voluntary compliance among the nation's 2.4 million members of the armed forces seems sufficient.

It's time for Pentagon officials to rethink the ill-advised policy. In the words of Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., they should "back off, make amends and restore in good standing those who have been punished."