SADDAM BOOSTING BIOTERROR

August 4, 2002 -- Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is suspected of planning to arm Palestinian terrorist groups with biological weapons to attack American and Israeli targets, a new report says.

A report containing a detailed assessment of the Iraqi leader's weapons of mass destruction shows that Saddam has packed his arsenal with biological weapons, The Times of London said yesterday.

With this report circulating, is there a reason CDC has not released the smallpox and anthrax vaccine for civilian use?

Because we don't have nearly enough of either vaccine to protect the civilian population. The government ordered twenty-five million doses of a new anthrax vaccine (RFP ANNOUNCEMENT: PRODUCTION AND ACQUISITION OF ANTHRAX VACCINE - NIH-NIAID- DMID-03-29) and three hundred million doses of smallpox vaccine within the last few months (Countering the smallpox threat ). The smallpox vaccine is scheduled for delivery last quarter of this year, but the anthrax vaccine won't be available until well into next year at the earliest. For the time being, the US is diverting military anthrax vaccine stocks to civilian use (Pentagon Shifts Anthrax Vaccine to Civilian Uses), but the supplies of that are definitely way too small to distribute generally -- that stockpile would be reserved for use post-attack, and even then might prove insufficient. In any case, there are enough questions over the saftey of the anthrax vaccine to make routine pre-exposure vaccination of civilians a doubtful proposition.

thanks for your view. I have posted multiple messages and started some threads on this issue. The reality is that if a free market were truly operating in drugs and health care, we would have this vaccine NOW. The only reason there are no supplies of vaccines is that the Clinton Administration was untrustworthy in healthcare. The fact that the drug manufacturers could not assure their shareholders of profit from smallpox or anthrax vaccine. That profit margin was lost because Clinton's Administration created a federal process to CONTROL vaccine distribution.

The only reason there are no supplies of vaccines is that the Clinton Administration was untrustworthy in healthcare.

well perhaps, but i have a slightly, more devious reason. when you control health care, you control who gets the health care. you can decide which socialistic cronies get health care and which conservative republicans/libertarians do not get health care. you control the fact that you and your party stay in power in a supposedly democratic republic...

i am in total agreement that healthcare should be put back on the open market.

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