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DATE=8/5/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ANTHRAX VACCINE MONEY - (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-252531
BYLINE=JIM RANDLE
DATELINE=PENTAGON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  Pentagon officials say they have agreed to a 
huge price increase for the vaccine that is supposed 
to protect millions of U-S service personnel against 
threatened germ warfare attacks.  V-O-A's Jim Randle 
reports, the economic problems follow the refusal of 
hundreds of service members to get inoculations 
against deadly anthrax.
TEXT:  Pentagon officials say anthrax is easier to 
turn into a weapon than other deadly diseases, making 
it the germ threat that U-S troops are most likely to 
face on the battlefield.  Ten nations are said to have 
the ability to develop and use anthrax, including Iraq 
and Russia. 
Only one company in the United States produces the 
vaccine against anthrax, and the firm says it will go 
bankrupt trying to produce it at the price agreed to 
in a 1998 contract with the Defense Department. 
BioPort Corporation of Lansing Michigan was supposed 
to produce millions of doses of vaccine for just over 
four dollars per inoculation.  Under the renegotiated 
contract they will more than double the price to over 
ten dollars.  A series of six shots is needed over 
several years for the vaccine to offer full 
protection.
Pentagon officials, who briefed reporters on condition 
that they not be named, say they have examined the 
company's financial records and agree that the earlier 
price is too low.  The change will cost the Pentagon 
millions of dollars and may spark criticism from the 
congressional committees that oversee the military 
budget.
Service personnel have protested that the vaccine was 
not properly tested before it was administered.  More 
than 200 soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have 
been disciplined for refusing orders to take the 
shots.  But 320 thousand of the personnel thought most 
likely to be deployed to danger areas have been 
inoculated with about one million doses of the 
vaccine.  
Pentagon officials admit temporary side-effects such 
as minor swelling and redness in the injection area 
affect almost half the soldiers treated.  But they say 
the testing program has been adequate and there is no 
evidence that the vaccine has made anyone seriously 
ill.  (Signed)
NEB/JR/TVM/gm 
05-Aug-1999 17:39 PM EDT (05-Aug-1999 2139 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.