{
  "id": "RL30748",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30748",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 100515,
      "date": "2000-11-07",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:32:20.165941",
      "title": "Department of Defense Anthrax Vaccination",
      "summary": "The Department of Defense (DOD) intends to immunize 1.4 million active duty and 900,000\nSelected\nReserve personnel against anthrax. The vaccine, approved by the Food and Drug Administration\n(FDA), has been in use since 1970. About 455,000 personnel have started the vaccination series, and,\naccording to DOD, at least 442 have refused the vaccine. DOD deems the immunization to be\nmandatory, and active duty personnel who have refused have been subject to administrative discharge\nor court martial for failure to obey a lawful order. Some Reserve and National Guard personnel have\nresigned rather than take the vaccine. Legislation was introduced in the 106th Congress to delay the\nprogram pending further research ( H.R. 2543 ,  H.R. 2548 ), however these\nbill have not been reported from committee. Congress also addressed the anthrax vaccination\nprogram in the DOD FY2001 Authorization Act ( P.L. 106-398 , Sec. 217, 218, 751), establishing a\nbroad range of reporting requirements and monitoring efforts.\n  Questions have been raised about the vaccine's efficacy against all forms of anthrax, possible\nlong-term adverse effects, the reliability of the adverse reaction reporting system, the reliability of the\nmanufacturer, and DOD's contractual arrangements with the manufacturer. The House Government\nReform Committee and its Subcommittee on National Security, Veteran's Affairs, and International\nRelations; the House Armed Service's Military Personnel Subcommittee; and the Senate Armed\nServices Committee have held hearings, with representatives from DOD, the Food and Drug\nAdministration (FDA), and the General Accounting Office (GAO). Members of the military who\nbelieve their anthrax vaccination caused a variety of medical ailments, and members who refused the\nvaccination and received disciplinary action or chose to leave the service also testified. The House\nCommittee on Government Reform has also issued a report prepared by the majority staff\nsummarizing its conclusions regarding the program.  (1) . The Department of\nDefense and the U.S. Food\nand Drug Administration continue to maintain that the vaccine is safe and the most effective medical\nprotection currently available against anthrax, and that adverse reactions to the vaccine remain at a\nlower rate than other widely-administered vaccines.\n  This report will not be updated, unless there are significant new developments.\n     1.  \u00a0  The Department of Defense Anthrax Vaccine\nImmunization program -- Unproven Force Protection , House\nCommittee on Government Reform. February 17, 2000.\n  http://www.house.gov/reform/",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}