Medical Readiness Issues Concerning the Anthrax Vaccine
Abstract
DOD currently plans to vaccinate all 2.4 million servicemembers against anthrax using the vaccine licensed in 1970 by the Division of Biologics Standards, National Institutes of Health (NIH). As of July 14, 1999, more than 300,000 servicemembers had received at least one dose of the vaccine. Initial immunization consists of three shots given at 0, 2, and 4 weeks followed by three additional shots given at 6, 12, and 18 months. Some studies have been done on the short-term effects of the licensed vaccine. We previously testified that the number of adverse reactions reported in these studies partly depended on whether an active or passive surveillance system was used to monitor adverse reactions. Also, we reported that the long-term safety of the vaccine has not been investigated but that DOD is considering a study to examine long-term effects of the vaccine.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 21, 1999
- Accession Number
- AD1178754
Entities
People
- Kwai-cheung Chan