Grabenstein never really went away, he just collects two paychecks
Meryl Nass, MD, mnass@gwi.net
It has been my impression that retired pharmacist Col. John Grabenstein, who went to work as a vice president for Merck's Vaccine division in mid 2006, has nonetheless been moonlighting for the anthrax vaccine immunization program, presumably as a consultant to the private companies that were hired to "manage" it. Grabenstein
supervised a body of "studies" of anthrax vaccine safety while on active duty that were so badly flawed, even the FDA described their methodologic failings in the vaccine label and failed to use them to assess the vaccine's safety.
Slick Grabenstein never missed a beat. He managed to finesse the 2000-2002 IOM committee into ONLY using that body of research, and deliberately omitting from consideration all the Gulf War studies that showed anthrax vaccine was statistically related to GWS. That is how the committee wound up saying the vaccine was "sufficiently" safe. [i.e., Good enough for government work(ers)]
Now the Grabber is at it again. He picks a retrospective evaluation of physical examinations, which are known to miss the signs and symptoms of both GWS and other anthrax vaccine injuries, to again demonstrate the vaccine is "safe." He is a true master of garbage methodology. (Keep watching as the real side effect profile of
Gardasil vaccine slowly trickles out; Grabenstein has responsibility for the bogus PR disseminated regarding that vaccine. IN the case of Gardasil HPV vaccine (Remember the "one less" campaign on TV?) he was building his career on the backs of young girls aged 9 and up, a number of whom died following vaccination, not to mention the miscarriages and other problems.)
Here is the latest so-called science from Grabenstein:
J Occup Environ Med. 2007 Oct;49(10):1079- 85.
Assessing the safety of anthrax immunization in US Army aircrew members via physical examination.
Downing J, Greig TW, Quattlebaum MD, Valentin M, Heeren TC, Grabenstein JD.
Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. jill.downing@ bmc.org
OBJECTIVE: Anthrax in weaponized form is the bioterrorism agent of most concern. Questions raised about the safety of the anthrax vaccine can be addressed by comparing immunized and unimmunized people in population-based studies. METHODS: A retrospective evaluation of data from periodic physical examinations collected on anthrax- immunized and -unimmunized US Army aircrew members between 1998 and 2005 was performed to evaluate the safety of anthrax immunization.
Mean changes in variables found on physical examination and laboratory analysis were compared by use of t tests. Multiple linear regression predicted change in outcome from baseline characteristics. RESULTS: We compared 6,820 immunized subjects and 4,145 unimmunized controls based on US Army aircrew physical examination and screening laboratory tests. No association between anthrax immunization and a clinically relevant change in a tested physiologic parameter was detected. CONCLUSIONS: No attributable risk of anthrax immunization was observed in this group of Army aircrew members.
Meryl Nass, MD
It has been my impression that retired pharmacist Col. John Grabenstein, who went to work as a vice president for Merck's Vaccine division in mid 2006, has nonetheless been moonlighting for the anthrax vaccine immunization program, presumably as a consultant to the private companies that were hired to "manage" it. Grabenstein
supervised a body of "studies" of anthrax vaccine safety while on active duty that were so badly flawed, even the FDA described their methodologic failings in the vaccine label and failed to use them to assess the vaccine's safety.
Slick Grabenstein never missed a beat. He managed to finesse the 2000-2002 IOM committee into ONLY using that body of research, and deliberately omitting from consideration all the Gulf War studies that showed anthrax vaccine was statistically related to GWS. That is how the committee wound up saying the vaccine was "sufficiently" safe. [i.e., Good enough for government work(ers)]
Now the Grabber is at it again. He picks a retrospective evaluation of physical examinations, which are known to miss the signs and symptoms of both GWS and other anthrax vaccine injuries, to again demonstrate the vaccine is "safe." He is a true master of garbage methodology. (Keep watching as the real side effect profile of
Gardasil vaccine slowly trickles out; Grabenstein has responsibility for the bogus PR disseminated regarding that vaccine. IN the case of Gardasil HPV vaccine (Remember the "one less" campaign on TV?) he was building his career on the backs of young girls aged 9 and up, a number of whom died following vaccination, not to mention the miscarriages and other problems.)
Here is the latest so-called science from Grabenstein:
J Occup Environ Med. 2007 Oct;49(10):1079- 85.
Assessing the safety of anthrax immunization in US Army aircrew members via physical examination.
Downing J, Greig TW, Quattlebaum MD, Valentin M, Heeren TC, Grabenstein JD.
Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. jill.downing@ bmc.org
OBJECTIVE: Anthrax in weaponized form is the bioterrorism agent of most concern. Questions raised about the safety of the anthrax vaccine can be addressed by comparing immunized and unimmunized people in population-based studies. METHODS: A retrospective evaluation of data from periodic physical examinations collected on anthrax- immunized and -unimmunized US Army aircrew members between 1998 and 2005 was performed to evaluate the safety of anthrax immunization.
Mean changes in variables found on physical examination and laboratory analysis were compared by use of t tests. Multiple linear regression predicted change in outcome from baseline characteristics. RESULTS: We compared 6,820 immunized subjects and 4,145 unimmunized controls based on US Army aircrew physical examination and screening laboratory tests. No association between anthrax immunization and a clinically relevant change in a tested physiologic parameter was detected. CONCLUSIONS: No attributable risk of anthrax immunization was observed in this group of Army aircrew members.
Meryl Nass, MD
