Anthrax Vaccine Safe, Effective

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Anthrax vaccine safe, effective

But a better vaccine is needed, expert panel concludes
Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman John Payhurst administers the first in a series of anthrax vaccinations to one of 6,000 sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis in the Persian Gulf in March 1998.

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March 6 — Despite the refusal of about 400 military personnel to take anthrax shots because of concerns about links to chronic fatigue and other health problems, a panel of experts has concluded that the vaccine is safe and effective. But certain drawbacks underscore the need for a better vaccine, adds the Institute of Medicine report.


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THE VACCINE should work against all strains of the bacteria, even if they have been altered to be used as weapons, the panel concluded. It should also work to protect people who have been exposed to anthrax but who have not yet become sick, an issue that became more urgent with the anthrax-laced letters sent last fall that killed five people and made 13 others ill.

BETTER VACCINE, MORE STUDY URGED
But a better vaccine is needed — one that is easier and less painful to give and that will become effective in less than the current six-dose schedule, according to the report.
And more study is needed over longer periods of time to make sure the vaccine is safe in the long term, it said.

See images and video from last fall's anthrax attacks.

“The most prudent course of action is to develop a new vaccine — given the nation’s war against terrorism and the domestic attacks where anthrax was used as a deadly weapon,” said Brian L. Strom, chairman of the committee that reviewed the vaccine.
The current vaccine was approved by FDA in 1970. The manufacturer, BioPort Corp., of Lansing, Mich., took over the product in 1998, but not until February did it win FDA approval for full production.
The delays hampered availability of the vaccine, limiting efforts by the military to vaccinate all service personnel.
Only a small number of special mission forces have been getting the vaccine. Some 400 soldiers, fearing complications from a vaccine they considered experimental, had refused it.
Concern about the limited supplies of the vaccine was heightened by last fall’s anthrax-by-mail terrorism coupled with the fear that the disease could be used as a weapon by foreign terrorists.

The new report from the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine found that the current vaccine, while old and clumsy, works against the toxin that makes anthrax lethal. That means it would work against any genetically engineered or otherwise altered anthrax bacteria. The panel found no unexpected adverse effects from taking the vaccine. The rate of reactions was similar to that of other vaccines, such as tetanus, given

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adults. These included skin redness and occasional malaise and muscle pain but no serious health impairments, the report said. There were also reports of itching or swelling at the injection site.
The report said this may be because the vaccine is injected under the skin rather than into muscle, which is done for most vaccines.
There is only limited information about possible long-term effects, the report noted, but there are no indications of increased risks.
But the vaccine is manufactured using older technology and requires six shots plus an annual booster, something the committee felt should be improved.
The current vaccine has been used to protect veterinarians and others who work with animals.

FIVE HAVE DIED
Normally anthrax is a disease of animals, and humans have contracted it from handling or working with the animals. Anthrax spores can live for years.
Five people died from the inhaled form of the disease, including two postal workers, after letters containing anthrax were sent to people in Florida, New York and Washington, D.C., last fall.

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There are also skin and intestinal forms of the disease if the bacillus is contacted by the skin or eaten.
Federal health officials believe more than 30,000 people may have been exposed to anthrax last fall in the series of letters sent to a newspaper office in Florida, Senate buildings and network television offices in New York. More than 10,000 people took antibiotics because of the letters. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 192 people opted to take the vaccine, which was offered as a precaution to anyone who did not want to continue taking antibiotics for months on end to prevent anthrax spores they may have inhaled from taking hold in their bodies.
BioPort will produce 2 million vaccine doses this year, and between 3 million and 8 million next year, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.
The government does not recommend the vaccine for civilians, but officials want to have it on hand in case of need.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.