|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
U.S. Defense Department Uses Bioshield Provisions to Revive Military Anthrax Vaccinations
The U.S. Defense Department has invoked emergency provisions of the Project Bioshield Act allowing for use of unapproved drugs and vaccines in order to revive its anthrax vaccination program for military personnel, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Jan. 18). Acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester Crawford authorized the use of the vaccine, following a determination by former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson that U.S. troops face a potential anthrax emergency in some nations (see GSN, Dec. 17). The FDA order, posted online Monday, requires that troops be educated about the vaccine and be given the opportunity to refuse the inoculation. The Pentagon said it was reviving the program due to intelligence indicating a heightened risk of anthrax attacks in certain potential theaters of operation, particularly Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea, the Post reported. “The department’s current intelligence community assessments establish that there is a heightened risk for U.S. military forces of attack with anthrax,” a Pentagon official said. Vaccinations would begin only after consideration again in U.S. District Court, where a judge has ruled mandatory inoculations illegal, said another Defense Department official. The process, he said, “could take some time.” The emergency authorization is good for only six months unless the extended by the Food and Drug Administration. (Marc Kaufman, Washington Post, Feb. 2).
| ||||||||||
Back to top
