E-NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER

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“Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982.”

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   FROM THE LA TIMES http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-le-lentz25.2jul25,1,3847320.story

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Military Response to Vaccination Refusal

July 25, 2003

Re “No Vaccine, No Glory, Navy Says,” July 21: As a practicing physician for 43 years, I find the action of the Navy on Troy Goodwin reprehensible and ludicrous. Forcing a seaman to take a vaccine that is known to be potentially dangerous and life-threatening is unconscionable. A recent death from the vaccination should be enough evidence to at least give the serviceman an option as to whether he takes it or not. To demote him, cut his pay and then put him in jail is ridiculous. What are our military priorities coming to?

Leon M. Trunk MD

Los Angeles

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The first mistake sailor Goodwin made was calling himself a “soldier.” The soldiers of the sea are the Marines. The second mistake was thinking he could disobey orders that he didn’t like and still have a career in the Navy. The Navy was right in giving him a 60-day sentence.

Tim Elliott

Burbank

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FROM THE WASHINGTON POST

washingtonpost.com

Vaccine’s Adverse Effects

Friday, July 25, 2003; Page A24

The government’s decision to hype the smallpox vaccine program is ill-advised [“Focus on Smallpox Threat Revived,” news story, July 17].

The Post seems to accept statements by the government that the vaccine has been safer than anticipated, but clinicians who have administered the vaccine know otherwise.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that 71 of 38,000 persons who received the vaccine experienced serious adverse events, resulting in “hospitalization, permanent disability, life-threatening illness or death.” As with other vaccines, such complications are not necessarily caused by the vaccine itself, but a serious adverse event rate of one in 535 is astronomical compared with conventional vaccines, which have an average rate of about one in 100,000.

The occurrence of myocarditis, or heart inflammation, among recipients was unexpected but is attributable to the vaccine. Myocarditis incidence rates have been reported at one in 1,800 for the civilian program and one in 12,000 for the military program. Moreover, cardiac deaths in both programs may yet be linked to the smallpox vaccine.

The government should move expeditiously to test and make available one of the several candidate vaccines (such as modified vaccine Ankara, or MVA) that have been used by other countries and are proving in trials to be as effective and much safer than the current Dryvax.

JEFFREY S. SARTIN

La Crosse, Wis.

The writer is an infectious-disease physician at a private clinic and hospital who was involved in bioterrorism planning.

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