Civilians to get supply of vaccine.(Brief Article)

2002 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Much of the Pentagon's supply of anthrax vaccine, originally intended exclusively for military personnel, is likely to be reserved for civilian use, a senior Pentagon official has announced.

David Chu, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said that while details remain to be worked out, the Pentagon does not expect to return anytime soon to its original goal of vaccinating all 2.4 million members of the armed forces against the deadly anthrax disease.

Initially the vaccine will be given only to those troops deemed most at risk, he said. He cited as examples those who work in laboratories where anthrax spores are handled, and special operations troops.

Some military personnel believe the vaccine causes health problems, and hundreds have been forced from the armed forces after refusing orders to take it. The government insists the vaccine is safe.

The Pentagon had been forced to scale back the vaccination program, which started in 1998, after factory violations by the nation's sole manufacturer of anthrax vaccine. Those problems have been corrected and in January the Food and Drug Administration cleared Lansing, Michigan-based BioPort's manufacturing plant to resume production and to release 500,000 doses it already had made.

The September 11 attacks changed the government's whole approach to the vaccination issue, Chu said.

"The events of last fall were really a wake-up call for the country about the possibility of biological agents being used as a weapon of mass destruction, and therefore this is no longer just a military personnel problem. This is also a national problem," Chu said in an interview with several reporters.