According to a press release from the FDA, a company, StemImmune Inc. in San Diego, California, has had five vials seized from the by U.S. Marshalls under instruction that contain the Vaccinia Virus Vaccine (Live). According to the FDA, this vaccine is reserved only for people at high risk for smallpox.
The vaccine apparently has no other uses other than treating people who against smallpox. As per International Law, only small quantities of smallpox virus officially still exist in two research laboratories in Atlanta, Georgia, and in Russia. So what on earth are StemImmune doing with the vaccine (remember that there is no known case of naturally occurring smallpox)?
This is what the FDA is asking: As the vaccine is not commercially available, the FDA has serious concerns about how StemImmune obtained the product for use as part of an unapproved and potentially dangerous treatment. The FDA is actively investigating the circumstances by which StemImmune came to possess the vaccine.
When a private company has managed to obtain smallpox vaccine that is not supposed to be available to them, it raises some pretty serious questions about whats happening in these institutes. There are other institutes in both California and Florida that are carrying out what they call Cutting edge research but are charging cancer patients thousands of dollars for untested, unproven, and often dangerous procedures.
When one of these institutes, The US Stem Cell Clinic received a visit from an FDA Officer, the investigator was refused entry. This is a clear violation of Federal Law. In fact, the FDA released a statement about this. They said: US Stem Cell Clinic also tried to impede the FDAs investigation during the most recent inspection by refusing to allow entry except by appointment and by denying FDA investigators access to employees. Refusing to permit entry or FDA inspection is a violation of federal law.
So these companies are using dangerous materials and are not cooperating with the FDA, then who is actually keeping a proper eye on them? The risk of a biological warfare attack is higher than ever, with almost all experts suggesting that this would be a high-priority target for terrorists. The EU Counter-Terrorist Chief suggests that it is almost inevitable that terrorists will launch this kind of attack within the next few years.
There is a good reason for smallpox being contained to just two maximum security centers in the world. If private companies are screwing around, we are all at risk.