FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Kimberly Nielsen
April 28, 1999
202-225-3415
CONGRESSMAN JONES URGES ADMINISTRATION TO STOP INVOLUNTARY ANTHRAX VACCINATIONS
Jones Wants More Conclusive Testing Before Additional Troops are Immunized
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Walter B. Jones (R-NC), member of the House Committee on
Armed Services, today called on Defense Secretary William Cohen to suspend further
involuntary anthrax inoculation on military personnel until more thorough testing can
dismiss the possibility of associated health risks.
In an April 28 letter to Secretary Cohen, Jones referenced a report confirming the
presence of squalene antibodies in veterans who received the inoculation from 1990-1991
and contracted serious and debilitating illnesses. Squalene antibodies have been found in
the blood of those uniformed personnel who served overseas and those who remained within
the United States during the Gulf War. A full text of Congressman Jones' letter to Cohen
is available upon request.
"I fully recognize the imperative to provide our men and women in uniform protection
against unconventional threats such as biological weapons," Jones wrote.
"However, I am concerned that the Department may be moving ahead with the
implementation of an anthrax vaccine program prior to conducting the full range of
scientific and medical tests necessary to appropriately reduce the risks of unintended
health consequences for those required to receive the inoculation."
"After hearing from a number of my constituents, I now feel that I would be failing
in my responsibility if I did not call attention to the legitimate questions of safety
that surround the Department's policy of administering the anthrax vaccination. I have
heard from too many military officers from the state of North Carolina alone, whose fierce
loyalty and dedication to this country has forced them to offer their resignation from the
service rather than disobey a direct order to receive a potentially unsafe
immunization," Jones wrote.
"Mr. Secretary, I am certain you share my conviction that we, in both Congress and
the Executive Branch, cannot falter in our responsibilities to ensure the health, safety,
and welfare of those who serve their country in uniform," Jones wrote. "I urge
you to impose a moratorium on involuntary anthrax vaccinations until a more thorough
examination of the connection between previous vaccinations and adverse health affects has
been completed."