Anthrax vaccine absorbed

In December 1997, Secretary of Defense William Cohen announced a departmentwide anthrax immunization program for high-risk military personnel. Implementation began in March 1998. On May 18, 1998, the Secretary authorized the vaccination of all military forces (Cohen, 1998). Almost 2.5 million troop-equivalent doses of vaccine were required to implement the Secretary s decision, much more than had ever been produced by the licensed manufacturer in its entire history. Prior to Desert Storm, the primary vaccine users had been veterinary, laboratory, and industrial workers at risk of infection, for whom an estimated 60,000 doses of Anthrax Vaccine Absorbed (AVA) were distributed between 1974 and 1989, an average of 4,533 doses per year (foellenbeck et al., 2002). During Desert Storm, approximately 150,000 troops received 300,000 doses of AVA, without accurate recording of recipients or adverse reactions. 

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