The concerns of some servicemen and women that anthrax immunization shots may be harmful to their health will be addressed at a congressional hearing today. The Department of Defense is in the midst of an effort to immunize all 2.4 million active duty personnel against deadly anthrax spores, potentially spread by enemy troops or terrorists. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration first approved the vaccine in 1970 to protect veterinarians against infection through exposure to animals with the anthrax virus.
Anthrax is a potentially fatal disease that focuses on the skin, lungs and stomach and intestines.
Symptoms commonly include nausea and fever. The Defense Department's policy requiring the anthrax shots has spurred protests by a small percentage of soldiers, sailors and airmen refusing to be inoculated, which has led to disciplinary measures. Those protesting the shots say the Michigan manufacturer has made batches of unsafe vaccine. Apparent problems with the use of the anthrax vaccine first began surfacing among some veterans of the Persian Gulf War. And since the military does not have a scientifically proven method of detecting anthrax, critics say, soldiers exposed to it may not get the further treatment needed after that exposure.