It's mandatory for our troops fighting in Afghanistan, but
the vaccine is not FDA approved for public use. And some medical experts
are calling for greater access to the vaccine.
The company that makes the anthrax vaccine says it could protect you from
death, from getting the inhaled, fatal form of the anthrax disease.
However, WGN uncovered information that shows the vaccine is not without
problems.
A woman and her fellow servicemen, who received the vaccine, say they are
now living a soldier's nightmare.
"When the joint pain is acting up severely and also the migraines
where you just go sit in a dark room and cry," says Robin Hawes.
Three strong, healthy Michigan Air National Guard members who volunteered
for duty in the Persian Gulf never made it overseas.
"Imagine having the flu the worst that you could have it and that
visits you every week," says Tom Starkweather.
"I felt really fatigued, I was in bed constantly. I couldn't get up.
I was tired all the time," says David Churchhill.
Shortly after receiving four of the six required anthrax vaccine shots in
1998 and 1999, the military confirms, nine out of 12 members of the 110th
Air Fighter Wing got sick.
Tom Starkweather says his wife remembers how it changed him.
"That's something you maybe have to ask my wife because hardly a day
goes by that she doesn't say I wish I had my husband back. I look at her
and say I don't know who he was or I don't know if he'll ever come
back," Starkweather says.
Starkweather was a recruiter for the Battle Creek unit of the guard. In
Bosnia, he was selected to receive an outstanding support award for
Operation Deny Flight. However, he says following his complaints about
the anthrax vaccine, he was not selected for retention and was forced to
retire.
"I was at the base and I went home and covered up in a blanket and
since that time it's pretty much been the position," says
Starkweather.
"I've literally had to crawl up the stairs before because it hurts
to walk," says Hawes.
These veterans don't know how many others are suffering too. According to
the Department of Defense, since 1998, more than 1,500 people have filed
military vaers forms, vaccine adverse event reports.
Two hundred of those were classified as fatal, life-threatening or
leading to permanent disability. That's out of a total of 500,000 people
vaccinated.
According to the military, less than one percent experienced major
medical complaints following the vaccine. However, critics say that
number is low. In fact, the FDA criticized the manufacturers of the
vaccine and the military for not actively investigating adverse
reactions.
"If you have the lump in the arm that I did, the diarhea, the vomiting
that has continued since September 1998, they say you have the flu. So in
the military's eye I've had the flu since September of 1998," says
Starkweather.
For former military honor guard member Hawes, the hand that held her
weapon so steady is now completely unstable. Air Force medical records
site a possible neurological reaction to the anthrax vaccine as a cause
for her tremors. She takes a series of medications she says never seem to
help completely.
"For vomiting, for rashes, for pain, for the achy joints, for
another one of the achy joints arthritis medication, this controls the
tremors and also helps the achy joints," she says. "I've never
had a standard prescription in my life before this. This is all new, this
is my new way of life."
Although doctors have no experience using the vaccine on people who have
been exposed to anthrax, as a precautionary measure, The Centers For
Disease Control is considering possibly vaccinating anyone who may have
come in contact with the bacterium. The vaccine is supposed to help the
body produce antibodies which would neutralize the toxins from anthrax
spores.
"I think the benefits are potentially very good. And I would want
all the possible medical treatments available pointed in my
direction," says Dr. Phillip Hanna of the University of Michigan
Medical School.
"For somebody to go out and say I want to be vaccinated with this
vaccine, so I can be healthy, I don't think that's the answer," says
Starkweather.
However, the public seems to welcome the potential for added protection.
Bioport, based in Lasing, Michigan is the only company in the nation that
makes the vaccine. It is gearing up for increased demand.
The company recently applied for FDA approval to ship mass quantities of
the anthrax vaccine for widespread use. However, in the past two years
the lab here has failed every federal health inspection with health
experts citing "quality control problems," specifically lack of
sterile environment to make the vaccine.
Based on results of those FDA inspections, Bioport was no longer allowed
to ship any vaccine samples. The military could continue to use stock it
had on hand. Yet, there are concerns about those vials as well.
WGN News obtained Food and Drug Administration records dating back before
Bioport took over this facility in 1998 when it was run by the state of
Michigan. Health investigators found, "multiple
contaminations." In one onsite visit, officials "discarded some
vaccine samples, from lots 030 and 031," due to "unknown
microbial contaminant."
"There is very aggressive, very extensive testing on every lot
that's released," says Kelly Rossman-McKinney, a Bioport
spokesperson.
And there's been extensive remodelling of the lab since Bioport bought
it. In its recent application for FDA approval to ship newly made
vaccines, the company submitted thousands of pages, documents Bioport
says prove the plant may be aging on the outside but it is new and clean
inside.
A company spokesperson says the information contained here should prove
to the FDA and to those who have had or are considering the vaccine, the
anthrax shot is safe.
"As someone who has had four doses of the vaccine myself, I
recognize that they truly do believe those illnesses are the result of
the vaccine. At the same time, my own experience is similiar to a vast
majority of people who had very very minor local reation," says
Rossman-McKinney.
However, according to military records at last "one person died who
had received the anthrax vaccine: lot 31," The very same lot cited
for contamination.
Lot 030, also red-flagged by federal health investigators was
administered to members of the 110th who say three years later after
receiving four anthrax shots, they are still sick.
"It was kinda hard to tell when the effects of the one ended and the
other one started. But each time I said look this makes me sick,"
Starkweather says.
There are no long term health studies to say if the side effects will
last.
"I'm just a mom and a housewife now and some days I take care of my
kids and some days my kids take care of me. That's my life now. It's
nothing like it used to be," says Hawes.
Robin, Tom and Dave are now using their experiences to educate the public
about what they believe are problems with the vaccine. WGN News has
learned that two other servicemen and the family of a woman who has died
have filed lawsuits against the U.S. government and the makers of the
vaccine.
Currently, the vaccine is only available through the military, but in its
application, Bioport is asking for permission to not only resume shipping
to the Department of Defense, but also to release shots on an as needed
basis to people who are not in the military.
