Vaccine and aid workers express anger over CIA plot to collect DNA through fake vaccine program

Jul 15 2011

"Vaccine program workers, who sometimes struggle to gain public trust and governmental cooperation in the first place, are furious about the deception" of the CIA in establishing a fake vaccination program in Pakistan in an attempt to gather DNA from Osama bin Laden's family, ScienceInsider reports. "Aid workers also say that news of the vaccination plot may undermine their ability to work with the public and with developing world governments," the news service writes (Reardon, 7/13).

"This fear is especially pronounced because of the rising problem of polio. Pakistan was the only country to record an increase in cases of the crippling disease last year and now has the highest incidence of polio in the world," the Associated Press reports (Abbot/Apuzzo, 7/13).

"Neither the White House nor the CIA would speak about the program. A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the program remains secret, said the decision to use vaccinations as a cover was a rare move that reflected the seriousness of the hunt for bin Laden," according to the Associated Press/NPR (7/13).