http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010612/hl/anthrax_1.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Low supplies of the anthrax vaccine
are forcing the US military to tighten distribution further, using it only to
inoculate special mission forces and for government research, the Pentagon
(news - web sites) said on Monday.
The available vaccine was released by the Food and Drug Administration
(news - web sites) from a lot made before the renovation of the Lansing, Michigan
facilities of BioPort Corp., the sole source of the vaccine for the US
military.
BioPort is awaiting FDA approval of its renovated plant
and the Pentagon said it hoped the vaccine from there can be distributed in the
first quarter of 2002.
The Pentagon’s anthrax vaccination program has generated
controversy since it was launched in May 1998, with some service members
refusing to take the series of shots because they worried about health consequences.
The Pentagon last year slowed its effort to inoculate all
2.4 million US active and reserve troops against the deadly anthrax biological agent
because of a shortage of vaccine.
The Pentagon had previously curtailed the vaccine, no
longer providing it to troops going to South Korea (news - web sites) but still
inoculating soldiers going to the Gulf for 30 days or more.
The concern has been that Iraq or North Korea (news - web
sites) might use the deadly biological agent against the US military. Anthrax spores, which are odorless and invisible,
are lethal if inhaled.
The latest slowdown has no geographic location attached to
it and provides for a vaccine in the event of an emergency.
“Actions are being taken to ensure that personnel deployed
to high-threat areas have sufficient antibiotics on hand for post exposure treatment
in case of an attack,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
“This move is necessary to conserve available vaccine
supply while protecting those service members at greatest risk,” the Pentagon
said.
The Defense Department has vaccinated more than 511,000 service
members with more than 2 million doses of anthrax vaccine since March 1998.
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