A single line often inverts meaning once you see what it
answers, so neighbouring messages are always shown.
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Dec. 12, 2001 - Met with Sen. Brownback and his aide Rob Wassinger. Brownback was concerned about statements that I made 13 years ago! Concerning the then new SCID mouse that could be reconstituted with fetal tissue to regenerate a human immune system in a mouse. I stated at an ACT-UP meeting in NYC that this was a promising area of research and that it would require the use of fetal tissue. At the time there was the beginning of a moratorium by President Reagan and later Bush on the use of fetal tissue for transplantation into humans. I apparently (reported in the press) urged the ACT-UP people to make their concerns known so that this could be taken into consideration by the administration and lawmakers. Brownback and Wassinger said that several "right-tolifers" had called them very concerned that I was being considered for NIH Director when I had been a vocal advocate for the use of fetal tissue. I had a lengthy (1 1⁄2 hour) discussion with Sen. Brownback about embryonic stem cells, fetal tissue, etc. I believe that the conversation went as well as could be expected. He was very cordial, but concerned about "how I would advise the President if I were NIH Director". I told him that I do not advise the President on Ethical or Moral issues since I trust that the President has his own strong moral compass. I mentioned that I am a scientists and that I merely give him accurate scientific facts and he can make up his own mind within the framework of his own values. I think that Brownback respected that answer. We left with his still being concerned about me, but I do not think that he will try to block me.
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Dec. 14, 2001 - Spoke with Rick Klausner about his perception about NIH Director. Rick feels that the WH is not leveling with Thompson since he has heard that they think that doing both jobs (NIH and NIAID) is a "non-starter" and they are against it. There is a disconnect here since Thompson feels that they (WH) will accept this, and he merely needs to get the Brownback issue out of the way. Something is strange here since Thompson is talking about getting the President to announce me before Christmas and Rick says the "rest of the WH" is against this. Stay tuned. Dec.15, 2001 - Sat. meeting at NAS regarding recommendations of giving anthrax vaccine to people who were exposed to anthrax and who are just finishing their 60 course of antibiotics. I, Jeff Koplan, D.A. Henderson, and Kathy Zoon (FDA) playing major role of setting policy and advising the Secretary.
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Dec. 16-19, 2001 - Much controversy and last minute scrambling in getting the consent form and the protocol out for the discretionary use of anthrax vaccine in exposed people who had been receiving antibiotics, but who are coming off their 60 day course. The CDC is really relinquishing their responsibility of doing a good job with the informed consent. They handed us a piece of junk as a draft. Stewart Simonson (Counsel to Secr. Thompson) has asked me to help get it right. I had been working all day and into the night on Dec.16-19 revising the consent forms and helping people get straight why DHHS is offering the vaccine to people. The Press are very suspicious and as usual critical of the Administration. I have exhaustively reviewed the data (with Cliff Lane as a great help) and come to the conclusion that vaccine + antibiotics is no better than antibiotics alone for post-exposure. Yet, Dr. John Eisold (the Navy physician who takes care of Capitol Hill people) is insisting that the Senate staffers also get the vaccine. We are in a dilemma. It is true that there is a "theoretical" reason to make the vaccine available in that animal studies show persistence of spores weeks after antibiotics and there is a fear that after antibiotics are discontinued the disease will occur. I would not take antibiotics. However, Eisold and the Senate Staffers are demanding that they get the anthrax vaccine. In fact, I received a phone call from Ms. Laura Petrou from Senator Daschle's staff on Dec. 19, 2001 enraged that we were taking so long in getting the vaccine to the staffers. Apparently, D.A. Henderson and Tommy Thompson had told Daschle that the vaccine would be available 2 days ago. They were insistent. The blacks in the postal service are quite skeptical. I have insisted that if I am going to help we must not "recommend" the vaccine since the data in animals show that it is not better than antibiotics alone. The difficult situation is that politically we essentially have to give it to the Senate staffers since they are demanding it. If we give it to them and do not offer it to the postal workers, we will be accused of racism and not treating the postal workers equally. Remember that they were outraged that the Senate staffers got antibiotics right away and the postal workers only got antibiotics after 2 people at Brentwood died. Therefore, we are offering, but not recommending the vaccine for any of the 9000 people who were put on 60 antibiotic course. We are not explicitly telling the public that this is really the rationale for what is going on. There is some confusion as to why we are not recommending it and if we are not recommending it, why are we even offering it. I have tried to articulate this to the public as I did on a Dec. 19 appearance on Jim Lehr's News Hour.
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Dec. 19-24, 2001 - As expected, publicity went bad for HHS on the anthrax vaccine story. Washington Post writer Ceci Connelly keeps blasting HHS and particularly Tommy Thompson and the CDC for lack of clear guidelines. The mostly black postal workers for the most part refuse the vaccine, saying that they do not trust the government and do not want to be "guinea pigs". They completely miss the point that no one really is telling them that they should take the vaccine. In contrast, the staffers from Daschle's office have a high % of people who are taking the vaccine.
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2001-12-27 00:00
Anthony S. Fauci
Dec. 27, 2001 - Receive a letter from Sen Brownback dated Dec. 19, 2001 in which he states that he is "deeply concerned by your inability to define the entity created after the successful procedure referred to by some as human somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)..." He wants me to respond. I do not want to put anything in writing and so I call his office and ask to speak with the Senator. His unbelievably right wing staffer, Rob Wassinger, answers and says that they will not put the call through to the Senator and that I should answer the questions in writing. Clearly, they are trying to trap me and clearly Wassinger is an asshole.
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Feb. 4, 2002 - An editorial in the Washington Post calls for President Bush to appointment me as the NIH Director.
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Feb. 5, 2002 - Spectacular day! I traveled on Air Force One with President Bush to Pittsburgh to spin his FY2003 budget on Bioterrorism and to visit scientists at Univ. of hould appoint announced Elias Pittsburgh who are working on a novel early warning system for BT. I met the group at Andrews Air Force Base and flew up at 11:00 AM. Did not see the President on the flight up; however, spent considerable time with him in Pittsburgh. The motorcade trip to and from the Pittsburgh airport was exciting. I was in a van about 4 cars behind the President and the motorcade was heavy with Secret Service and Police. The President was extremely complimentary to me during the visit as he spoke to other people about me in front of me. He specifically thanked me for my great work in his speech that was covered by CNN. During the flight back to DC he called me to his state room and spent the entire flight back speaking with me!!! In the room were Gov. Ridge, Secretary Thompson, and D.A. Henderson. Thompson mentioned to me in Pittsburgh that they spent much of the trip going up to Pittsburgh talking about me and the work that I have been doing. Tommy is pushing hard with the President to appoint me.
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Feb. 8, 2002 - Sheryl Stolberg suggests in the New York Times that Bush should appoint me. She mentions that the sticking point is my requirement to do both jobs.
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Feb. 15, 2002 - Laura Meckler wrote a piece for AP on the right wing Family Research Council opposing my nomination for NIH Director based on my philosophy on fetal tissue and stem cells. They refer to my comments in 1988 about the utility of the SCIDhu mouse model.