AAP | Asia Pulse | New Zealand | Photos

Friday February 14, 10:28 AM

Cosgrove flags more anthrax vaccinations

Audio & Video Defence Force Chief Peter Cosgrove tells Channel 9 he is seeking to calm anthrax vaccination fears. (AAP)

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) was working to allay concerns about anthrax vaccinations and had convinced more personnel to be inoculated, Defence Force Chief Peter Cosgrove says.

General Cosgrove did not confirm news reports that at least 40 ADF personnel had refused to be vaccinated against anthrax because they feared side effects.

ADVERTISEMENT

But he said the numbers were dropping.

"The numbers are coming down, I've heard an estimate elsewhere today that it was 40," General Cosgrove told the Nine Network.

"I think that's on the high side but we're still working with a number of people who have expressed concerns and we're seeking to meet those concerns and explain what the issues are."

So far 11 sailors have been confirmed as heading home from ships in the Persian Gulf after refusing the voluntary vaccinations.

General Cosgrove defended the decision by Australia to insist on the inoculations and not follow Britain's lead, whereby unvaccinated troops can go to the Persian Gulf provided they sign a legal waiver.

"I just don't think that that's fair on our people to allow them to sign away their own safety," he said.

"A waiver to me, in the face of a real threat, is not something that I'd entertain.

"A waiver suggests that the people who do take the inoculation are in some way taking an optional reassurance.

"I want to be reassured that all Australians are safe who are exposed to those sorts of threats."

General Cosgrove said many sailors could not have been told about the anthrax vaccine before they headed to the Gulf because they were already stationed there as part of the multi-national forces enforcing United Nations sanctions prior to the government directive to vaccinate against anthrax.

"A couple of the ships that have people aboard who have got these doubts, were already there, they've been there for months," he said.

"A bit hard to tell them or invite them to have the inoculation any earlier than government actually decided that we needed to forward deploy into a position where these threats became apparent."

General Cosgrove said there was not enough time to offer the vaccinations to sailors aboard the HMAS Kanimbla before they left Australia last month.

"They were the first to leave and government decided only in January that we would go to this step and from that point on we were involved in obtaining vaccines, making sure that we had appropriate information to accompany the invitation to consider taking a vaccine.

"And all of that coinciding with the reasonably urgent deployment of Kanimbla meant that those sailors weren't given the options until after they had departed Australia."

Email this story

Printer friendly version