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Med group on board with anthrax deadlines

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Connie L. Bias
  • 92nd ARW Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  On Feb. 16, the 92nd Medical Group received a directive from the Secretary of the Air Force and Secretary of Defense. They had 75 days--30 days preparation, 45 days implementation--to administer the anthrax vaccine immunization to 90 percent of Fairchild's servicemembers deploying to U.S. Central Command or transferring to Korea. 

Medical group staff is saying that's not good enough for them. They want 100-percent vaccination. 

"We feel that it's important to make sure our deployers and PCSers (permanent change of station) are protected," said Master Sgt. Robert Flask, NCO-in-charge of community health. "Anthrax is a valid threat, and we need to protect people from it. If we have a way to protect you and we're not doing it, we're doing you and the military a disservice." 

The updated vaccination plan is a re-installation of the Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program that began in 1998. AVIP has been on hold since October 2004, when the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an injunction questioning the vaccine's effectiveness against inhalation anthrax. 

Since then, the Federal Drug Administration has determined that the vaccine is effective against all methods of anthrax exposure, including inhalation. For a time, servicemembers could voluntarily receive the vaccination, but the immunization is again mandatory for certain personnel. 

"Along with active-duty members on their way to USCENTCOM or Korea, some civilians will also have to take the vaccine before going into those areas," said Sergeant Flask. "Emergency-essential Department of Defense employees are mandatory, as are DoD contractors carrying out mission-essential services." 

Sergeant Flask also said the program now allows family members aged 18-65 to voluntarily receive the vaccine if they're going into the specified areas. 

"Fifteen days boots on ground is our rule," he added. "If someone is going to Korea, for instance, for a day or 14 days, they don't have to get the shot, although they can." 

Sergeant Flask said that even though the shot is optional in such cases, from a medical standpoint, the immunization is recommended. He also recommends that people who have started the six-shot process complete it, even though completion of the program is optional once a servicemember returns from Korea or USCENTCOM. 

Air Force leaders also stress the importance of the anthrax vaccine. In an interview with Air Force Print news, Lt. Col. Todd Shull, Air Force Counter-Biological Warfare Division chief, said the military "saw in 2001 that anthrax attacks could occur anywhere ... Vaccination offers a layer of protection, in addition to antibiotics and other measures, that is critical for members of the armed forces.

" When DoD officials announced in October that AVIP would resume, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., also noted the critical nature of the program, calling anthrax "a disease that will kill, caused by bacteria that has already been used as a weapon in America, that terrorists openly discuss," and saying that the FDA and independent medical experts have repeatedly confirmed the immunization's safety and effectiveness. 

"I think the problem a lot of people had with taking the vaccine is the painful lump it leaves," said Sergeant Flask. "The vaccination has been used for 37 years, and there have been no problems with it. 

"I'm absolutely comfortable with it," he added, saying he has received four of the six initial anthrax shots. After the six initial shots, personnel receive an annual booster shot. "I actually have a worse reaction with the tetanus and yellow fever vaccinations than with the anthrax," he said. 

Not all personnel are eligible to receive the vaccination. Exemptions include, but are not limited to, pregnant women, people who have a pending medical evaluation and those who have acute diseases. Special situations and exemptions are handled individually. 

For those preparing to deploy or transfer to USCENTCOM or Korea, the medical group will schedule anthrax vaccine immunizations 60 days prior to departure, with a mandatory two weeks between each shot.

(Information from Air Force Print News at www.af.mil is used in this story.)