Dear Dr Friedlander,
This email is copied into Mr James S Turner, long time lawyer for Dr J. Anthony Morris, who can attest to all of the following and more besides.
http://www.pathguy.com/antiimmu.htm
You have this text on your site:
I have received a few inquiries about J. Anthony Morris. who is presently cited on many of the anti-immunization sites as having been "the chief vaccine control officer for the United States Food and Drug Administration." On the record of his publications, he was a virologist at the NIH from the 1940's to the time of the swine flu vaccine business. He helped develop several experimental vaccines that did not work, most notably the failed attempts to create an influenza B vaccine in the 1960's following the obvious success of the influenza A vaccine. Not everything works out, in fact most things don't, and this is no reflection on him. His one major paper deals with the discovery that some anti-influenza antibodies are protective and some are not; you can read it in NEJM 274: 527, 1969. In the paper, his title is listed as "Chief, Section on Respiratory Viruses, Division of Biologic Standards, National Institutes of Health." In other words, he was a microbiologist who supervised the standardization of some of the viruses used for research. He is also third author on a paper in Science 116: 117, 1969, which lists his affiliation as "Division of Biologic Standards, National Institutes of Health." He has no major publications after this, and I could find nothing more about him except from anti-immunization activists. I would conclude that the claim that he was "the chief vaccine control officer for the United States Food and Drug Administration" is just one more lie. If Dr. Morris or his family wish to show me evidence to the contrary, or they have something else to say about the whole anti-immunization business, I will post it here.
Dr Morris has never laid claim to developing any experimental flu vaccines whatsoever. He did however, extensively test the effectiveness of all influenza vaccines up until 1976, and investigate why all the influenza vaccines, including A strain vaccines, appeared not to work very well. (You seem to infer that the only source of information which will satisfy you, is for Dr Morris to produce himself, or for his family to contact you. My connections with Dr Morris are no concern of yours, since surely as a scientist, what should really matter are the FACTS on the issue, some of which are stated below. )
In 1976, Dr Morris appearing on the Phil Donahue show. (Perhaps you should talk to him as well?) He had informed his superiors he was going to go public through a variety of media, because none of the information he had provided to those in charge of the campaign had been either acknowledged and used. He was told not to go public. He disobeyed that order in many ways, the Donahue show, being only one way. He informed America, on Phil Donahue’s show, that he had been responsible for the testing of the Swine flu vaccine; that it could cause serious allergic and neurological reactions; had a very low potency, and was completely unnecessary as the virus concerned was an ordinary pig virus, and not highly pathogenic, and had died out within two weeks of it’s being detected in February, and had not been seen anywhere else.
The FDA fired him, after that appearance, for insubordination. He then employed a Washington lawyer, James S Turner (who is still a lawyer, and who will hold all the files on this very extensive 7-year long case for unfair dismissal by the FDA, which he won. You can contact him here: http://www.swankin-turner.com/jim.html I have copied him into this email.) Given that this is in the public domain, and Mr Turner will have accurate documentation, why have you not talked to James S. Turner?
The media of the time covered Dr Morris’s case extensively. For instance, ask the Washington Star to provide you, from the archives of 1976, the major articles they ran on this story. One of them was July 25, 1976. They ran another extensive story on January 5, 1979, The Washington Post on 13 March 1977, ran a major article on the story which included photos of both Dr Morris and James Turner. Many other papers also ran reports of the story as it was huge news at the time.
There is also inaccurate mention of him on page 100 in this book:
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?chapselect=yo&page=100&record_id=12660
J. ANTHONY MORRIS, Bacteriologist, Bureau of Biologics, Food and Drug Administration; discharged under protest, July 1976.
Seems many of his sloppy colleagues besides yourself, don’t know how to accurately define his role either.
With regard to your comment about Dr Morris’s lack of publications after 1969, again the public record can explain that, if you know where to look. James Turner would also be able to fill you in on why there is no scientific publications from Dr Morris from 1969, if you asked him for that information.
You could also contact Nicholas Wade, or read his article in Science volume 175, 25 February 1972 pages 861 – 866 Called “Division of Biologics Standards: In the matter of J. Anthony Morris”, which details Dr Morris’s first battle with DBS from the late 1960’s (the “matter” which lead to the senate hearing detailed below). Nicholas Wade, who is still around, interviewed Dr Morris extensively.
This debacle in the late 60’s lead to Dr Morris going to Senator Ribicoff, which resulted in high level investigations of various committees into the issues, and then a Senate Hearing. You can obtain, free from your library of congress, a copy of the “Hearings before the Subcommittee on Executive reorganization and Government Research of the Committee on Government operations, United States Senate, Ninety-second congress second session on titles I and II of S.3419, April 20, 21 and May 3, 4 1972.
James S Turner represented Dr Morris in front of the Senate in 1972 as well, so he will have extensive records on Dr Morris’s career as well as his findings in both DBS and FDA, which put him so off-side with both organizations, since the two issues were very similar.
This Senate Hearing also details some of the systemic harassment Dr Bernice Eddy after she discovered SV40 as well.
I trust that the information above, will provide you with the start of what should prove an interesting project.
When you have completed your study, perhaps you might like to apologise to Dr Morris (not that he cares. When I discussed this with him, he just snorted, and didn’t care whether someone addressed the issues with you or not ….), for behaviour unbecoming of a fellow scientist. If you would direct that apology through James S Turner, I’m sure he will pass it on to Dr Morris.
Sincerely,