Following dissemination of our Infomail, Infamous Endorsement of Anthrax Vaccine for Children, AHRP was asked by one recipient, what evidence existed to show that the anthrax vaccine has caused disability and death.

This is an important, legitimate question that deserves clarification and citation to evidence which we want to share with all our Infomail readers.

Military studies of the anthrax vaccine  have provided very little information about adverse effects.  However, as Meryl Nass, MD, a recognized expert on anthrax and biological weapons, points out, a June, 2007 report by the General Accounting Office  [GAO-07-787R ]  states (on page 4, last paragraph):

 "Officials from the VHC Network [Vaccine Healthcare Centers] and CDC [Center for Disease Control] estimate that between 1 and 2 percent of immunized individuals may experience severe adverse events, which could result in disability or death. Some of these events may occur coincidentally following immunization, while others may truly be caused by immunization."

Dr. Nass also refers to a slide from a Vaccine Healthcare Center presentation, which states that the anthrax vaccine poses a risk of  "Severe AE [Adverse Events]….of 1-2%"

She notes, "There are no good studies of incidence or prevalence of severe adverse events to point to, but this is what the CDC and military Vaccine Healthcare Centers acknowledged from their own experience with vaccine reactions.   

The 2002-2007 CDC-directed, five center anthrax vaccine clinical trial enrolled 1564 subjects initially, followed them over 43 months, and reported 229 serious adverse events to VAERS.  

A preliminary 2008 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA ) provided  the total Adverse effect number, as 229, but without a breakdown by the type of adverse event:      

"During the 7 months of participation summarized here, there were 51 SAEs reported among 47 subjects of the 1005, including 3 deaths. Using World Health Organization causality assessment criteria, the data and safety monitoring board concluded after a blinded review that none of these 51 SAEs was related or possibly related to the study agent. Since enrollment began, there have been 229 SAEs in the entire 1563 participant cohort involving 186 participants, with 7 deaths." [emphasis added]

Four years have passed since CDC completed this major trial, yet no final report has ever been published.  

Disclosure: Dr. Nass is a board member of The Aliiance for Human Research Protection.