No studies have been performed on the vaccine to determine if it will protect personnel from inhaled anthrax spores. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that the vaccine will protect personnel from aerosolized anthrax. A principal chemical component of the vaccine is formaldehyde, which is not approved for human consumption. A principal chemical component of the vaccine, benzethonium chloride, has not been evaluated for human consumption. The only facility licensed to produce the vaccine has been cited by the FDA for quality control problems.
Most physicians know very little about the vaccine, other than what they are told by the government.
Unlike some critics of the program who proclaim that our fighting men and women are being used as test subjects, I believe that the military's goal, at least with this particular program, is simply to protect our troops in the field from Anthrax. The concern on the part of the service members, however, is a legitimate one and well founded. I have often criticized the FDA and marvel at how the agency that approves drugs such as Thalidomide, the infamous morning sickness drug that caused horrendous birth defects, never accepts responsibility or is held complicate when things go wrong. As it stands now, they must comply or suffer the immediate consequences. For the moment, that is merely conjecture.