Congress passed legislation that will provide tens of millions of dollars for treatment and compensation for victims of Havana syndrome. Now the White House must decide on the types of injuries that will qualify for payment. BarryMeier reports
The U.S. Embassy in Cuba when it was being shut down amid a wave of mysterious medical symptoms in 2016. Photo: Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images The stories patients were telling Dr. Pablo Celnik sounded both odd and oddly familiar. They reported having severe headaches, mental fog, difficulty concentrating, and loss of balance — problems so debilitating they had abandoned their posts at United States embassies or work on secret missions and returned home.
Last year, in a rare bipartisan move, Congress passed the Havana Act, a bill that with other legislation will provide tens of millions of dollars for treatment and compensation for victims of Havana syndrome. And in the coming weeks, the White House must decide on the types of injuries that will qualify for payment.
“It is going to be a massive fight,” said Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA agent who says that a Havana-syndrome-style attack in 2017 in Moscow left him with chronic migraine headaches. “It is pitting victims against the government, and it is going to be a mess.” The case of Havana syndrome is not the first time that the American government has made a mess of a medical problem affecting agency employees or the military. Debate stirred for decades around whether U.S. soldiers who served in Vietnam were suffering neurological problems caused by Agent Orange, a defoliant used there.
Most recently, a U.S.-government study concluded that exposure to electromagnetic or acoustic waves might have harmed some Americans because their specific symptoms — pain and pressure on one side of the head, vertigo, and loss of balance — couldn’t be medically explained. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which commissioned the study, wouldn’t say how many people fit into that category or where they had worked.
The National Security Council, a White House office, will make the decision on compensation criteria under the Havana Act based on recommendations from federal agencies with affected employees. Potential claimants were recently told during a State Department briefing that a list of qualifying conditions will be released in coming weeks for public review and comment.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ latest teaser would like you to meet the IlluminatiDoctor Strange meets a certain Professor in the newest Multiverse of Madness teaser.
Read more »
The Houseboat That Is a Brooklyn Assembly DistrictThe members of the Sharps family live on a houseboat in Red Hook. And because of redrawn district lines, in the upcoming Democratic primary they'll get to elect two district leaders entirely on their own. cliomiso reports
Read more »
The latest Pixel Watch spec rumors show Google’s trying to make a flagshipBut one very important component remains a mystery.
Read more »
Hallmark Channel movie schedule for May 2022: Premiere dates, synopsis, cast, how to watchThe Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries are premiering five new movies in May.
Read more »
Here are Houston’s 6 newest womens-wear boutiquesGet in, we’re going shopping.
Read more »
The newest, coolest L.A. and O.C. museum shows to see in MayA Takashi Murakami exhibit at the Broad. ‘The Lost Murals of Renaissance Rome’ at the Getty. ‘L.A. Underwater’ at the Natural History Museum
Read more »