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July 28, 2003

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

“Detrick Anthrax Vaccine Tested”

Associated Press (www.ap.org) (07/25/03)

Research into the 30-year-old vaccine against anthrax by the Army has resulted in a number of clinical trials across the country that are studying the effectiveness of vaccines that require fewer shots than the six injections currently required for the vaccine, according to scientists at Fort Detrick, Md., where the Army’s research facility is located.  The Army has been working on an anthrax vaccine with a shorter shot regimen for years, but the study has become more important as a bioterrorist or bioterrorists struck with anthrax in the United States in 2001 and the war in Iraq raised concerns about anthrax being used as a biological weapon.  A number of institutions are using Army research to test vaccines they have developed against anthrax, including the University of Maryland and VaxGen, a Brisbane, Calif., biotechnology company.