EU666 Biodefense Stockpile and US666 Biodefense Stockpile July 20th, 2009
This one is absolutely exploding around the intertubes this morning.
I don’t know where it started but someone found a datasheet about a vaccine called Prepandrix that’s made by GlaxoSmithKline.
This thing contains the following entries:
Regulatory/Status Index:
biodefense stockpile (U.S.)biodefense stockpile, European countriescontrolled/gov’t distribution in European countiescontrolled/gov’t distribution in U.S.EU200 Currently Approved in EUEU666 Biodefense stockpileUM100 Controlled/Gov’t Distribution in USUS666 Biodefense stockpileEM160 Controlled/Gov’t Distribution in EU
Now, I’m not taking any vaccine regardless of what number sequences are associated with it, but let’s clear something up:
PREPANDRIX IS A BIRD FLU VACCINE. Bird flu. H5N1.
Not swine flu, H1N1.
The EU666 and US666 status codes are also associated with a smallpox vaccine, and on a more individual basis, about two dozen other substances.
Maybe it’s interesting that vaccines that are stockpiled for “biodefense” purposes carry the 666 designation, but for purposes of the swine flue H1N1 vaccination that will be coming out in a few months, this US666 and EU666 wouldn’t apply because it hasn’t been stockpiled; it’s new.
Out of curiosity, I tried to determine what EU666 and US666 mean beyond the phrase “Biodefense stockpile” that appears next to the entries.
This is the reference for the Regulatory/Status index codes.
Here are the entries for biodefense stockpiles for the U.S. and European countries:
biodefense stockpile (U.S.) — 104; 105; 321; 392; 393; 394; 395; 396; 446; 447; 448; 450; 451; 452; 573; 574; 575; 618; 619; 650
biodefense stockpile, European countries — 312; 392; 393; 449; 452
There’s no reference for 666 listed. I don’t know why the 666 code isn’t listed here, but when you click on any of those codes above and then look down, though the text, it says US666 Biodefense stockpile, or EU666 Biodefense stockpile or both on all of those.
I don’t know what the implications of all of that are, but there you have it.