Judge OKs Mandatory Anthrax Vaccine

AP via SFGate ^ | 2/29/8 | MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer

[SmithL]

WASHINGTON, (AP) --

The Pentagon can require its troops be vaccinated against anthrax, a federal judge said Friday.

Judge Rosemary M. Collyer said the Food and Drug Administration acted appropriately when it found the vaccine to be safe and approved its use. She dismissed a lawsuit by military officials who argued the drug is unproven and the scientific data unsound.

"The court will not substitute its own judgment when the FDA made no clear error of judgment," Collyer wrote.

The dispute has languished in the court system for years. A federal judge suspended the vaccination program in 2004 after faulting the FDA's process for approving the drug. After the FDA redid the process and again found it to be safe, the military announced plans to reinstate mandatory vaccinations.

[SmithL]

Collyer, Rosemary M.

Born 1945 in Port Chester, MD

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Nominated by George W. Bush on August 1, 2002, to a seat vacated by Thomas Penfield Jackson; Confirmed by the Senate on November 14, 2002, and received commission on November 15, 2002.

Education:
Trinity College, B.A., 1968

University of Denver College of Law, J.D., 1977

Professional Career:
Private practice, Colorado, 1977-1981
Chairman, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, 1981-1984
General counsel, National Labor Relations Board, 1984-1989
Private practice, Washington, DC, 1989-2002

Race or Ethnicity: White

Gender: Female

[Retired Greyhound]

well...this is a tough issue. I would not want an unproven anthrax vaccine, but it would seem to me that they DoD is within it’s rights to require this.

I hated getting dosed up with all of the various vaccines while in the Navy, but as was explained to me, I was no longer an individual but a military asset.

[sam_paine]

"The court will not substitute its own judgment when the FDA made no clear error of judgment," Collyer wrote.

Sounds like a good non-acitivist judgement.

[Hoosiersailor]

The current anthrax shot we get has been proven. Its not one of my favorite shots but it really isn't bad. Its one of like 8 other shots that I am required to get every year, but most people don’t complain about the other ones. Just think most people are uninformed and are scared of getting it.

[SmithL]

Were you one of us lucky ones that got to enjoy the Swine Flu shot?

My least favorite shot was the one I got before transferring from an East Coast boat to a West Coast boat. I got a massive plague shot, right in my military ASSet. Then they put me on a cross-country flight, to give me plenty of time to enjoy it.