Jump to content

CIA Vaccination Cover in Pakistan

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The CIA Vaccination Cover in Pakistan was a CIA covert operation utilizing a fake hepatitis vaccine program in Pakistan to illicitly collect blood samples to confirm the presence of Osama bin Laden.[1] The program was unsuccessful, led to the arrest of a participating physician, Shakil Afridi, and was widely ridiculed as undermining public health.[2][3]

The program is credited with increasing vaccine hesitancy in Pakistan[4][5][6][7] and the targeting of healthcare workers as spies.[8] The rise in vaccine hesitancy has led Pakistan to having the largest number of Polio cases.[9]

Aftermath

[edit]

In In September of 2012, after working for 30 years in Pakistan, Save the Children was expelled.[10]

In 2011, the program was condemned by Doctors without Borders.[10] In Feb 2012, the program was condemned by the Non-governmental organization InterAction. [10] On January 6, 2013, the deans of twelve American schools of public health sent a letter to Obama condemning the program.[11][10]

On May 16, 2014, Lisa Monaco responded that vaccine programs would be excluded from espionage:[12][13]

I wanted to inform you that the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) directed in August 2013 that the agency make no operational use of vaccination programs, which includes vaccination workers. Similarly, the Agency will not seek to obtain or exploit DNA or other genetic material acquired through such programs. This CIA policy applies worldwide and to U.S. and non-U.S. persons alike.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Shah, Saeed (11 July 2011). "CIA organised fake vaccination drive to get Osama bin Laden's family DNA". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  2. ^ Robbins, Anthony (November 2012). "The CIA's vaccination ruse". Journal of Public Health Policy. 33 (4): 387–389. doi:10.1057/jphp.2012.37.
  3. ^ Vavra, Shannon (24 December 2021). "CIA's Bin Laden Vaccine Ruse Haunts Public Health Efforts". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  4. ^ Martinez-Bravo, Monica; Stegmann, Andreas (16 February 2022). "In Vaccines We Trust? The Effects of the CIA's Vaccine Ruse on Immunization in Pakistan". Journal of the European Economic Association. 20 (1): 150–186. doi:10.1093/jeea/jvab018.
  5. ^ "CIA's hunt for Osama bin Laden fueled vaccine hesitancy in Pakistan". New Scientist. May 11, 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  6. ^ Iqbal, Hala (1 February 2021). "How the CIA's fake Hepatitis B vaccine program in Pakistan helped fuel vaccine distrust". Vox. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  7. ^ Ali, Inayat (29 August 2024). Contesting Measles and Vaccination in Pakistan: Cultural Beliefs, Structured Vulnerabilities, Mistrust, and Geo-Politics. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-89925-2. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Polio eradication: the CIA and their unintended victims". The Lancet. 383 (9932): 1862. May 2014. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60900-4.
  9. ^ Siddiqui, Zuha (9 March 2021). "In Pakistan, Legacy of Fake CIA Vaccination Programs Leads to Vaccine Hesitancy". VICE. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d "CIA Vaccination Cover in Pakistan - Bloomberg School of Public Health". John Hopkins. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  11. ^ Buekens, Pierre M.; Curran, James W. (January 6, 2013). "Klag letter to President Obama" (PDF). Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  12. ^ "After bin Laden backlash, CIA promises: No more vaccination campaigns for spying". Yahoo News. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  13. ^ Summers, Todd; Morrison, J. Stephen (May 27, 2014). "Fake CIA Vaccine Campaign: When the End Doesn't Justify the Means". www.csis.org. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
Stub icon

This medical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CIA_Vaccination_Cover_in_Pakistan&oldid=1242463977"