Episode Details

In July, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that would allow expiring anthrax vaccines to be given to civilian emergency responders within the United States. The question: Is that vaccine safe? In this episode, we look at the history of the anthrax vaccine and the results of the investigation into the only anthrax attack on the United States: The anthrax laced letters which were mailed to members of the mainstream media and Congress in September and October 2001. Last, an update on the current security of the United States' anthrax supplies. Warning: This episode contains disturbing information. Executive Producer: Brandon Shipley Please support Congressional Dish: Click here to contribute with PayPal or Bitcoin; click the PayPal "Make it Monthly" checkbox to create a monthly subscription Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Mail Contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North #4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Thank you for supporting truly independent media! The Bill H.R. 1300: First Responder Anthrax Preparedness Act Summary: Republican Policy Committee Legislative Digest for Wednesday, July 29, 2015. Creates a program for distributing anthrax vaccines that will soon expire to emergency responders who volunteer to accept them. Creates a program for tracking the vaccines. Creates a two year pilot program, in at least two states, for distributing the vaccines. Passed the House of Representatives 424-0 Sponsored by Rep. Peter King of New York 6 Pages Additional Reading Anthrax Vaccine Website: What is BioThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed), Emergent BioSolutions. Article: Experimental Drugs Linked to Gulf War Veteran's Ills by Warren Leary, New York Times, May 7, 1994. Article: The Anthrax Vaccine Scandal by Laura Rozen, Salon, October 14, 2001. Report: Biological Warfare and Anthrax Vaccine by Barbara Loe Fisher, National Vaccine Information Center, December 2001. Article: Gulf War Vaccine Still a Problem, Leading Scientist Tells Inquiry by Michael Smith, The Telegraph, August 12, 2004. FDA Document: The safety and efficacy of anthrax vaccine have not been estabilished, and the preponderance of the world's literature show the vaccine is unsafe, and a contributor to Gulf War Syndrome as acknowledged in the vaccine's package insert by Meryl Nass MD, December 29, 2004. Report: Anthrax Vaccine and Public Health Policy by Martin Meyer Weiss, MD, Peter D. Weiss, MD, and Joseph B. Weiss, MD, American Journal of Public Health, November 2007. Article: Gulf War Illness: Thousands Still Report Symptoms by Diana Washington Valdez, El Paso Times (republished on Military.com), April 21, 2014. Report: The Project BioShield Act: Issues for the 113th Congress by Frank Gottron, Congressional Research Service, June 18, 2014. Report: Emergent BioSolutions 2014 Annual Report Website: Emergent BioSolutions Lobbying, OpenSecrets.org Website: Emergent BioSolutions Lobbyists, OpenSecrets.org 2001 Anthrax Attacks Article: U.S. Germ Warfare Research Pushes Treaty Limits by Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg, and William J. Broad, New York Times, September 4, 2001. Article: The Anthrax War by the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal and R. James Woolsey (reprinted by Free Republic), October 17, 2001. Article: Public Enemy No. 2 by Richard Cohen, Washington Post, October 18, 2001. Article: Who Made the Anthrax? by Richard Butler, New York Times, October 18, 2001. Article: Anthrax Bacteria Likely to be US Military Strain by Debora MacKenzie, New Scientist, October 24, 2001. Article: F.B.I. Presents Anthrax Case, Saying Scientist Acted Alone by Scott Shane and Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, August 6, 2008. Article: Scientist Officially Exonerated in Anthrax Attacks by Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, August 8, 2008. Department of Justice Report: Amerithrax Investigative Summary, U.S. Department of Justice, February 19, 2010. Press Release: Justice Department and FBI Announce Formal Conclusion of Investigation