A 1993 report by the US Congressional Office of Technology Assessment estimated that between 130,000 and 3 million deaths could follow the aerosolized release of 100 kg of anthrax spores upwind of the Washington, DC area truly a weapon of mass destruction. Because small amounts of anthrax can produce large numbers of casualties, the Secretary of Defense has determined that it is vital to protect our service men and women against the threat of anthrax by immunizing the total force with the anthrax vaccine. Anthrax Vaccine Safety Multiple studies have shown that anthrax vaccine is very safe, with an incidence of side effects after injection similar to other common vaccines. But like any medicine, all vaccines can occasionally cause reactions. Usually these are mild, like a sore arm or flu-like symptoms.
Serious reactions are rare, but they can happen with any vaccine.
For more than 25 years, the is highly effective, and has an excellent safety record. An independent FDA advisory panel reaffirmed the safety and effectiveness of anthrax vaccine in 1985. The evidence for the FDA-licensed anthrax vaccine, based on data from both human and animal research, indicates that the vaccine is highly effective against anthrax. Licensed in 1970, anthrax vaccine induces immune response through a protein called protective antigen. The same protective antigen in the licensed vaccine was involved in the pivotal, placebo-controlled human clinical trial.