Australian $2.1M Mefloquine & Tafenoquine Veterans Program

As recently announced, the Australian government has committed $2.1 million Australian dollars to mefloquine and tafenoquine veterans, to “deliver a national program… with the option to receive a comprehensive health assessment to identify service-related illness, disease and injury”.

This program, which will cost approximately $500 for each Australian veteran exposed to these drugs, comes only months following the conclusion of an Australian Senate investigation that took pains not to concede that Australian veterans have suffered long-term harm from their use of mefloquine and tafenoquine, mostly during unethical drug trials in the late 1990s to early 2000s. The funding of this program would appear to contradict government claims that such harms were uncommon or even rare.

The Australian commitment of approximately $500 per exposed veteran — if eventually matched in other jurisdictions — could lead to tens of millions of dollars in expenditures in Canada, where tens of thousands of Canadian veterans have been exposed to mefloquine; and to potentially hundreds of millions in expenditures in the U.S., where hundreds of thousands of U.S. veterans have been exposed to the drug.

Canadian Lawsuit Virtual Town Hall

Canadian law firms Howie Sacks & Henry and Waddell Phillips will be hosting an online virtual town hall this Sunday, March 17, 2019 at 2 p.m to discuss the upcoming mefloquine mass tort lawsuits against the Canadian Government.

Canadian veterans who were prescribed mefloquine by the Canadian Forces are invited by these firms to attend to learn what is involved in taking part in the lawsuit and to learn more about this issue. Executive Director Dr. Nevin has been invited to give a brief presentation about the foundation during the virtual meeting. If you are interested in attending, please register in advance here.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Meeting on Mefloquine Scheduled for March 27, 2019 — Make Plans to Attend

Are you a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer or State Department employee suffering long-term effects from mefloquine? Can you travel to Washington, DC on March 27, 2019? If so, the committee of the NASEM conducting its 18-month study needs to hear from you! Please register to attend this meeting in-person to speak directly to the committee about your experiences.

We are also encouraging anyone who has been formally diagnosed with a central vestibulopathy, central vertigo, a central visual disorder, or any other CNS injury following their use of mefloquine to also register and attend in-person to speak directly to the committee.

We recognize the committee has provided only two weeks warning of this meeting, making it very difficult for those affected to participate. However, even if you cannot make the meeting in person, please register to attend remotely by signing up here, and make plans to watch this meeting live beginning at 9:30 a.m. on March 27, 2019, and to contribute your evidence remotely if called upon to do so.

After you do register to attend, please contact us so that we can learn more about your story and what you intend to share with the committee, so that we can provide a list of prospective speakers to the committee to encourage that all voices are heard.

At this time, the committee has not yet publicly agreed to study or review individual medical records. However, we are hopeful that by hearing directly from those affected, the committee will recognize the inadequacy of the current literature, and conclude that the scope of the 18-month project must be expanded to include a review of the extensive patient-level data that led to international drug regulators adding a boxed warning of permanent adverse effects.

Six Weeks Until the 2019 Annual Meeting

With just over six weeks to our 2019 Annual Meeting, we encourage you to register and make your travel plans to White River Junction, Vermont, now!

If you will be attending the entire two-day meeting, Monday, April 29 through Tuesday, April 30, we recommend you arrive either Saturday, April 27, or Sunday, April 28, and plan to depart Wednesday, May 1.

We recommend staying at our meeting hotel, the charming and quaint Hotel Coolidge, in the heart of the historic village of White River Junction, Vermont. If you call the hotel directly, you can save $10 on your nightly room rate with the booking code “quinism”.

The village is located a two-hour drive or less from major New England airports, including Boston Logan (BOS), Bradley International (BDL), Manchester (MHT), and Burlington (BTV). We recommend renting a car from one of these airports for the pleasant two-hour-or-less drive to White River Junction through the New England countryside. For those coming from points along the Amtrak Northeast Corridor, White River Junction is served by the daily Vermonter train from Washington DC, with the station located directly across the tracks from the meeting hotel.

Upon your arrival in downtown White River Junction, you will find a delightful walkable village with a variety of attractions, including the Main Street Museum, the Center for Cartoon Studies, and Northern Stage, and restaurants, including Tuckerbox, Piecemeal Pies, Phnom Penh Sandwich Station, Big Fatty’s BBQ, Trailbreak Taps + Tacos, Elixir, and Thyme.

Our Annual Meeting is your opportunity to meet with others affected by quinism, hear from experts in the field, and stay informed of the latest developments. We are looking forward to welcoming you. Register today!