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Anthrax Vaccine Mandate by Military

On Monday, the US Defense Department said it would resume mandatory anthrax immunizations for most military personnel serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and South Korea, reviving a questionable and controversial program that had been challenged by lawsuits and halted in a federal court in 2004.

By Michael Dorausch, D.C.
planetc1.com staff writer

On Monday, the US Defense Department said it would resume mandatory anthrax immunizations for most military personnel serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and South Korea, reviving a questionable and controversial program that had been challenged by lawsuits and halted in a federal court in 2004.

anthraxThe move by the Defense Department calls to vaccinate more than 200,000 troops and defense contractors within 60 days, despite concerns from some veterans and members of armed service who say that the anthrax vaccine has not been proven safe or effective.

In 2004, a lawsuit was filed by former and current service members, effectively blocking the mandatory anthrax jab. US District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan had ruled that the Food and Drug Administration should not have approved the vaccine in 2003 without seeking public comment and conducting a full review. Since that time, the FDA held a 90 day comment period and as a result gained final vaccine approval in December of 2005.

Since 1998, more than a million troops have been vaccinated against anthrax. Many service members had been punished or discharged for refusing the anthrax vaccine until Judge Sullivan suspended the mandatory vaccinations after finding fault in the FDA’s approval process for the shots.

Here are some related anthrax article archive links…

Death Connected To Anthrax Vaccine

Double Dosing Anthrax and Bad Science

Court Rules Anthrax Vaccine Unsafe and Hazardous

Anthrax Vaccine: Committee Demands STOP PROGRAM

planetc1.com-news @ 7:03 am | Article ID: 1161104616

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