As anthrax vaccinations start this week for service members in Korea, a Department of Defense official addressed two concerns over the vaccine. Rudy Frank de L eon, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said two common concerns raised by military members are the immunization of pregnant women and the experimental strains of anthrax not covered by the vaccine. The anthrax vaccination consists of a series of six shots throughout an 18-month period.
Protection increases with each shot.
Our intelligence shows that there was at one time some research in the former Soviet Union in this area. The only form that can be weaponized at this point is the form that the anthrax vaccine protects against, he said. Another concern was the vaccination of pregnant women. The chief of medical operations for the Pacific Air Forces Command Surgeon, Col. Charles Cotta, said, since the vaccine contains no living organisms, it poses no danger to women who become pregnant after receiving the vaccine. He also said that medical science research available on the vaccine backs up the claim that the vaccine poses no threat to pregnant women.