Troops can protect themselves against anthrax warfare by simply using protective clothing and protective masks. Anthrax may not be detected in time to don protective gear before exposure. The benefits of taking the vaccine are not worth the risks. There are bad side effects from the anthrax vaccine. About 30 percent of men report these minor local reactions, most of which usually last only a short while.
Lumps can persist a few weeks, but eventually disappear.
Such minor injection-site reactions occur about twice as often among women. For both sexes, between one and five percent report local reactions of one to five inches in diameter. Reactions wider than five inches occur in less than one percent of those receiving the injection. Beyond the injection site, up to 35 percent of those injected experience muscle or joint aches, chills, fever, headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, malaise or related symptoms. Again, these symptoms usually go away after a few days.