Vaccine vials jettisoned? 

BBC, LONDON -- Though British Defence Minister Lewis Moonie
believes anthrax is a serious threat to troops deploying to Iraq, the shot is
voluntary for its soldiers. Defence spokesman Paul Keetch reportedly
commented Feb. 11, 2002 that, of the 16,538 service personnel being
deployed to the Gulf region, only 8,103 accepted the invitation to be
jabbed with the anthrax vaccine. 

Keetch has criticized the government for not ordering troops to receive the
vaccination which has caused so many adverse reactions and has never
been proven to confer immunity to the anthrax. 

Curiously, there have been reports that British troops who opted to get the
shot are being asked to sign waivers agreeing to not claim compensation if
they become ill after having vaccinations. The wife of a serviceman
leaving for the Gulf reported that her husband “...was told, if he wanted to
have these jabs, he had to sign a disclaimer saying that, if he had illness in
the future, he couldn't claim compensation.” 

The Defence department admits that it considered such a policy but
rejected the idea. 

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Anthrax overboard 

LONDON (CNSNews.com) -- A veterans' organization says a stockpile
of more than 100,000 doses of anthrax vaccine found on a British beach
may have been thrown overboard deliberately by sailors deploying to the
Persian Gulf. Jim Moore, a spokesman for the National Gulf Veterans and
Families Association (NGVFA), said Thursday his organization has no
conclusive proof that the vaccine vials that washed up in Dorset, southern
England, were thrown overboard. But Moore noted that the circumstances
surrounding the vaccine find are suspicious. 

“For anything to be accidentally washed overboard on an aircraft carrier is
highly unusual,” he said. “This gives us cause for concern and there are a
lot of questions that need to be asked.” 

The NGVFA believes that improperly administered vaccines might be one
of the causes behind “Gulf War Syndrome,” a mysterious collection of
symptoms that is thought to afflict 5,000 vets in Britain and 200,000 in the
United States. 

A Ministry of Defense spokeswoman, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said that an internal investigation to locate the source of the
vaccine find was underway.