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Advisory Panel Says Vaccines Probably Killed Army Reservist
Two civilian review panels have told the U.S. Defense Department that the April death of a 22-year-old Army reservist was apparently caused by an adverse reaction to multiple vaccines she was required to receive, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Aug. 21). Rachel Lacy died one month after receiving smallpox, anthrax, hepatitis B, typhoid, measles, mumps and rubella inoculations in one day. Col. John Grabenstein of the Army’s surgeon general’s office said Lacy died of “a complicated illness, diagnosed as ‘like lupus.’” He also said that administering multiple vaccines in one day is an accepted medical procedure, that “it’s considered safe practice” (Donald McNeil, New York Times, Nov. 19). A panel of experts from the official U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and Armed Forces Epidemiology Board said the available information on the case “strongly favors” the theory that Lacy died as a result of the vaccinations. Of five panelists on a Health Resources and Services Administration committee, three said it was “possible” and two said it was “probable” that vaccination caused the death. Neither group cited a specific vaccine as the likely culprit. The military’s vaccination program will not be altered, according to William Winkenwerder, assistant defense secretary for health affairs (David Brown, Washington Post, Nov. 19).
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