[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 278 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 278

 Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the anthrax and smallpox 
                               vaccines.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 25, 2003

Mr. Bingaman submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the anthrax and smallpox 
                               vaccines.

Whereas military personnel are asked to risk and even sacrifice their lives and 
        the well-being of their families in defense of the United States;
Whereas vaccines are an important factor in ensuring force health protection by 
        protecting the military personnel of the United States from both natural 
        health threats and health threats resulting from biological weapons in 
        overseas conflicts;
Whereas vaccines offer significant benefits and protections that must be 
        carefully balanced with the reality that vaccines and drugs generally 
        carry rare but serious adverse events and life-threatening risks;
Whereas in 2002, the insert label for the anthrax vaccine required by the Food 
        and Drug Administration was revised to include approximately 40 serious 
        adverse events with information that ``approximately 6 percent of the 
        reported events were listed as serious.'';
Whereas in 2002, the Food and Drug Administration also compelled the 
        manufacturer of the anthrax vaccine to substantially revise the package 
        insert and changed the risk to pregnant women from Category C (a 
        possible risk) to Category D (a known risk) because of ``positive 
        evidence of human fetal risk based on adverse reaction data from 
        investigational or marketing experience or studies in humans'';
Whereas in 2002, the General Accounting Office reported ``an estimated 84 
        percent of the personnel who had had anthrax vaccine shots between 
        September 1998 and September 2000 reported having side effects or 
        reactions. This rate is more than double the level cited in the vaccine 
        product insert. Further, about 24 percent of all events were classified 
        as systemic--a level more than a hundred times higher than that 
        estimated in the product insert at the time'';
Whereas in June 2003, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the 
        Centers for Disease Control and Prevention withdrew its support for 
        expanding the smallpox vaccination program for first-responders after 
        finding that 1 in 500 civilians vaccinated for smallpox had a serious 
        vaccine event;
Whereas in 2002, the General Accounting Office found that 69 percent of 
        experienced pilots and aircrew members in the National Guard and the 
        Reserve reported that the anthrax shot was the major influence in their 
        decision to change their military status in 2000, including leaving the 
        military entirely;
Whereas in the war in Iraq that continues as of the date of enactment of this 
        resolution, the British and Australian militaries have conducted 
        voluntary anthrax vaccine programs, and other allies who have been 
        offered the anthrax vaccine have declined;
Whereas in March 2000, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease 
        reported in the ``Jordan Report 20th Anniversary: Accelerated 
        Development of Vaccines 2000'' that no data existed to support the 
        effectiveness of the anthrax vaccine against pulmonary (inhalation) 
        anthrax in humans;
Whereas because anthrax can be prevented and treated with antibiotics and other 
        options are either in clinical trials or development, the current 
        anthrax vaccine is not the only choice for force health protection;
Whereas in the 2002 State of the Union address, President Bush placed a national 
        priority on developing a new anthrax vaccine and a newer and safer 
        smallpox vaccine is also in development; and
Whereas the threat of anthrax and smallpox attacks against the deployed troops 
        of the United States has significantly diminished since the overthrow of 
        Saddam Hussein and the disruption of Al Qaeda activity in Afghanistan: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the Secretary of Defense should reconsider the 
        mandatory nature of the anthrax and smallpox vaccine 
        immunization program, pending the development of new and better 
        vaccines that are under development as of the date of enactment 
        of this resolution;
            (2) the Secretary of Defense and Board for Correction of 
        Military Records should reconsider adverse actions already 
        taken or intended to be taken against servicemembers for 
        refusing to accept the anthrax or smallpox vaccine;
            (3) the Secretary of Defense and the intelligence community 
        should reevaluate the threat of anthrax and smallpox attacks on 
        troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to reflect operational realities 
        as of the date of enactment of this resolution when considering 
        the continuation of a mandatory military vaccination program; 
        and
            (4) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should assess those 
        adverse events being reported with respect to the anthrax and 
        smallpox vaccines, research causal relationships, and estimate 
        a future cost to the Department to treat these conditions.
                                 <all>