Comment:  Never mind the fact that the FDA miraculously found reason to approve it just days after the judge declared the vaccine experimental, and put a (what turned out to be) temporary hold on the military's anthrax shot program.

►March 4, 2004 - Criticism, skepticism surround anthrax vaccine - BioPort defends product despite lawsuits, studies - The State News - "BioPort Corp. executives are the first to admit that a cloud of doubt seems to linger above their anthrax vaccine...Critics relentlessly question if the Lansing-based company's product would be effective against a bioterrorist attack. Others contend the immunization is harmful to those who receive it...Company executives, however, maintain that scientific fact and a series of medical studies vouch for the safety and effectiveness of the nation's only federally licensed anthrax vaccine." - 3/4/04

►March 2, 2004 - Anthrax vaccine inquiry soldiers demand - Medical News Today - 3/4/04 

►March 4, 2004 - Drug to treat hepatitis B proves useful in blocking anthrax toxin - The University of Chicago Chronicle - "'These toxins pack a one-two punch that makes inhalational anthrax extremely harmful,' said Tang, Associate Professor in the Ben May Institute for Cancer Research at the University. 'For the first time, we have a clinically approved drug that, at least in tissue culture, completely eradicates half of that toxic team, and does it at non-toxic doses.'" - 3/4/04

Comment:  That is good news.  In my opinion, it is far better to develop drugs to treat those exposed to anthrax, rather than expose everyone to the known and unknown risks of anthrax vaccination, whether they need it or not.

►March 15, 2004 - Looking Back at Smallpox - journal article (Clinical Infectious Diseases) - "Examination of clinical variants suggests that severity of illness was usually determined by host responses during the incubation period. Control of viral replication was aided by early postexposure vaccination and might be strengthened by additional immunological interventions.^" - 3/3/04

►March 2, 2004 - Health experts laud the old-fashioned quarantine (requires registration) - Knight Ridder via The Charlotte Observer - "The best hope for stopping epidemics of infectious diseases, public health experts said Monday, may be a long-neglected tool: quarantining people...When modern medicine couldn't come up with antibiotics, vaccines and effective treatments against the contagious respiratory disease SARS last year, Canada and Asia dusted off quarantine laws and isolated more than 200,000 people. That stopped the disease." - 3/3/04

►March 2, 2004 - New Acambis CEO Announces Four-Fold Increase in Profits - press release - Acambis plc via PRNewswire-FirstCall via Yahoo! - "In developing new vaccines against infectious diseases, Acambis is aiming to maximise the value of its products by retaining rights to those vaccines for as long as possible. This means not only developing, clinically testing and licensing the vaccines but also, where possible, manufacturing, selling and distributing the product ourselves...The first of these primarily involves the development of our two key franchises: the smallpox vaccine franchise; and the travel vaccines franchise." - 3/3/04

►March 2, 2004 - FBI hits wall in anthrax investigation - Suspect profile is only clue agency has after 2 years (requires registration) - The Chicago Tribune - 3/3/04

►March 2, 2004 - VaxGen reports Phase I clinical trial results of anthrax vaccine candidate - VaxGen, Inc. via www.eurekalert.org - 3/3/04 

►October 12, 1999 - Anthrax Vaccine: Safety and Efficacy Issues (Testimony, 10/12/1999, GAO/T-NSIAD-00-48). - U.S. GAO via www.gpoaccess.gov - 3/3/04

►October 11, 2000 - Anthrax Vaccine: Preliminary Results of GAO's Survey of Guard/Reserve Pilots and Aircrew Members (Testimony, 10/11/2000, GAO/GAO-01-92T). - U.S. GAO via www.gpoaccess.gov - 3/3/04

►September 20, 2004 - Anthrax Vaccine: GAO's Survey of Guard and Reserve Pilots and Aircrew (20-SEP-02, GAO-02-445). - U.S. GAO via www.gpoaccess.gov - 3/3/04

►October 22, 1999 - Medical Readiness: DOD Faces Challenges in Implementing Its Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program (Letter Report, 10/22/1999, GAO/NSIAD-00-36). - U.S. GAO via www.gpoaccess.gov - 3/3/04

►July 21, 1999 - Medical Readiness: Issues Concerning the Anthrax Vaccine (Testimony, 07/21/1999, GAO/T-NSIAD-99-226). - U.S. GAO via www.gpoaccess.gov - 3/3/04

►February 5, 1998 - Gulf War Illnesses: Research, Clinical Monitoring, and Medical Surveillance (Testimony, 02/05/98, GAO/T-NSIAD-98-88). - U.S. GAO via www.gpoaccess.gov - 3/3/04

►April 14, 2000 - Contract Management: DOD's Anthrax Vaccine Manufacturer Will Continue to Need Financial Assistance (Testimony, 04/14/2000, GAO/T-NSIAD-00-140). - U.S. GAO via www.gpoaccess.gov - 3/3/04

►December 1, 2003 - Smallpox Vaccination: Review of the Implementation of the Military Program (01-DEC-03, GAO-04-215R). - U.S. GAO via www.gpoaccess.gov - 3/3/04

►April 30, 2003 - Smallpox Vaccination: Implementation of National Program Faces Challenges (30-APR-03, GAO-03-578). - U.S. GAO via www.gpoaccess.gov - 3/3/04

►June 30, 1999 - Contract Management: Observations on DOD's Financial Relationship With the Anthrax Vaccine Manufacturer (Testimony, 06/30/99, GAO/T-NSIAD-99-214). - U.S. GAO via www.gpoaccess.gov - 3/3/04

►April 29, 1999 - Medical Readiness: Safety and Efficacy of the Anthrax Vaccine (Testimony, 04/29/99, GAO/T-NSIAD-99-148). - U.S. GAO via www.gpoaccess.gov - 3/3/04

►March 29, 1999 - Gulf War Illnesses: Questions About the Presence of Squalene Antibodies in Veterans Can Be Resolved (Letter Report, 03/29/99, GAO/NSIAD-99-5). - U.S. GAO via www.gpoaccess.gov - 3/3/04

Posted March 4

►March 1, 2004 - Military Vaccine Flattens GI, 17 - CBS News - "Amid all the war stories that have come out of the conflict with Iraq, Tyran Duncan's hasn't been widely told. The willing soldier became an unwitting victim to the vaccinations he was required to take to deploy. And as CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports, he's not the only one." - 3/2/04

Posted February 19

►February 10, 2004 - Anthrax Spores Can Germinate, Grow and Reproduce in Soil - University of Michigan Health System via Newswise - 2/15/04

►February 13, 2004 - Genetic AIDS immunity traced to smallpox, not plague - www.gay.com - 2/15/04

►February 14, 2004 - Smallpox vaccine tested in Missoula - The Missoulian - 2/15/04

►February 14, 2004 - Surveillance and containment would be effective intervention against deliberate smallpox attack - Emory University Health Sciences Center via www.eurekalert.org - 2/15/04

►February 13, 2004 - Virus in Smallpox Inoculation Spreads - Atlanta Journal-Constitution via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract) - 2/15/04

Posted February 17

►February 10, 2004 - Smallpox Vaccine Spread Virus Through Family - HealthDay Reporter via  www.lifeclinic.com - "By his accounts and those of his 27-year-old wife, the soldier followed all precautions. Although he slept in the same bed as his spouse, he washed his hands, kept the site covered with gauze until it had fully healed and had limited contact with his 5-month-old daughter who was still breast-feeding...Nevertheless, in mid-May, the wife developed red, tender swelling around both her nipples. The area blistered, then ulcerated, leaving open sores around the nipple area. No one, including her doctor, suspected it was a vaccinia reaction, so she continued breast-feeding until May 29, when it became too painful...On the day she stopped breast-feeding, her baby developed a tell-tale blister on her upper lip, which turned into a pustule and formed a crust. The next day, she developed a similar lesion on her left check. On June 2, a pediatrician saw the facial lesions as well as one on her tongue and diagnosed her with suspected vaccinia. She was transferred to Madigan Army Medical Center, where she came under Fairchok's care...No one knows exactly how the transmissions occurred." - 2/11/04

►February 10, 2004 - Breastfed Baby Exposed to Smallpox Vaccine Virus - Reuters Health - "Breastfeeding women who live with someone who has been recently vaccinated against smallpox should take extra precautions to prevent their infants from being exposed to the virus used in the vaccine, according to a new report...Doctors at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, have documented the case of a breast-fed infant who was exposed to the vaccinia virus, which is used in the smallpox vaccine...The baby's mother had not been vaccinated against smallpox but her husband, a soldier, was given the vaccine soon before the baby developed symptoms." - 2/11/04

Comment:  "When", not "if"?  Is this merely careless speech or reporting?  Do they know something we don't, but should, know?   Or is this just more scare-mongering?

►January 25, 2004 - How smallpox affected our cemeteries - Corsicana Daily Sun - "My only experience with smallpox occurred when I was vaccinated as a child for the disease. My memory of the incident is that the vaccination left an ugly round scar on my shoulder. I also remember everyone saying don't touch or scratch the scab until it was completely healed. As a teenager, I was very self conscious of the scar especially when we went swimming. I really don't know why I had these thoughts since everyone I knew had a similar looking mark." -  1/25/04

►January 24, 2004 - Shots Have Healthy Repercussions Smallpox Vaccination Effort Helped Officials Learn How To Prepare For Disaster, Doctors Say - The Hartford Courant - "A year ago today, with the impending war with Iraq as a backdrop, three Connecticut doctors rolled up their sleeves and kicked off the nation's smallpox vaccination program...Anxiety about a smallpox attack and the vaccination program itself have almost disappeared. In retrospect, say those who were involved, it wasn't the vaccination effort that was important but the act of preparing for disaster." - 1/24/04

►January 22, 2004 - Little interest shown for small pox vaccines - The small pox inoculation is coming up small among first responders, according to the Montgomery County health department. - The Mercury - 1/24/04

►January 22, 2004 - Small-molecule inhibitors of anthrax lethal factor identified - Findings hold promise for developing new anthrax therapies - The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases via www.eurekalert.org - 1/23/04

►January 23, 2004 - Biodefense Agency Urged for Safety of U.S. Troops - Lack of New Vaccines Points to Need, Report Says - The Washington Post - "The Pentagon has not developed a single new vaccine against biological agents since the 1991 Gulf War and should create a new biodefense agency to respond to the growing threat of biological attacks on U.S. forces, according to a congressionally mandated report released yesterday." - 1/23/04

►January 22, 2004 - Report urges update to biological protection efforts - Scripps Howard News Service via  www.knoxstudio.com - 1/23/04

►January 21, 2004 - BIOLOGICAL WAR-FEAR: FDA fails to halt anthrax anxiety - After judge stopped controversial vaccine feds declared it safe - by Timothy W. Maier - Insight magazine, via www.worldnetdaily.com  - "'Only after the issuance of an injunction, up pops a federal rule,' Sullivan declared with acid sarcasm to Justice Department attorney Shannen Coffin, who is representing the Pentagon in the lawsuit filed by the six John Does. 'And you're telling me it's coincidental?'...'I'd stand on a stack of Bibles and tell you it's coincidental,' Coffin replied to Sullivan...'That's an amazing coincidence,' Sullivan shot back." - 1/22/04

►January 22, 2004 - Blueprint on Way for Vaccine Factory to Combat Terror Strikes - The Scotsman -"Plans for a Government-owned factory to produce large amounts of vaccine in the event of a terrorist strike could be finalised within weeks, it emerged today...The rapid response facility would produce vaccine for people contaminated by a chemical or biological attack." - 1/22/04
 

►January 21, 2004 - Local company testing anthrax vaccine - www.wtvw.com - "Bioterrorism is a constant threat, and now the government wants a new vaccine to protect us from anthrax...Now the race is on to find a safer vaccine. That's where federal researchers and those at GFI, a research company, come in...'What they've actually developed now is not only a vaccine that's been on the market for years, we're actually involved in a trial on a new vaccine to potentially protect the public,' said Dr. Randall Stoltz, Medical Director of GFI." - 1/22/04