Anthrax Threat.

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Anthrax Threat

Luis Robles

Today’s US military personnel around the world face a new threat: Biological weapons. To protect the US troops against Biological weapons; the Department of Defense implemented a mandatory vaccination program against anthrax. This was justified to counter an increasing threat from hostile countries and possible terrorist groups that now or in the future will likely possess the capability of fielding weaponized anthrax spores as a Biological Weapon. This decision has resulted in court-martials and disciplinary hearings among U.S. Armed Forces personnel who have refused the anthrax vaccine on safety grounds. Are these individuals overreacting to misperceived risks from the anthrax vaccine that the military considers safe, or are there real safety concerns that should be considered?

“Anthrax is a rare, infectious disease that is transmitted to humans most commonly by farm animals. The disease is caused by the bacterium bacillus anthracis. Anthrax may also be spread through the inhalation of bacterium spores. If not properly treated, the disease may be fatal”(webmd). “Anthrax is the preferred biological warfare agent because is highly lethal, inhalational anthrax is virtually always fatal, the low cost of the anthrax material facilitates massive production, it is easy to weaponize, it can be stored almost indefinitely as a dry powder, and it is difficult to detect”(defense). More than 10 countries have, or are developing, a biological warfare capability. Production of biological warfare agents does not require specialized equipment or advanced technology. Many of the materials and equipment that are used to produce biological warfare agents are available from legitimate sources and intended for other uses.

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The anthrax vaccine was developed in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s and was approved by the FDA in 1970. In 1998, The Secretary of Defense William Cohen approved the vaccination plan based on the successful completion of all testing and operational criteria. Between now and about 2005, the entire force, including all new service member will begin receiving the six-shot series of the anthrax vaccination in a phased immunization program. The first three shots are given in two-week intervals. The following three shots are administered at 6, 12, and 18 months. As of today there have been 79 adverse reactions out of nearly 900,000 shots given so far. According to Ken Bacon, Pentagon spokesperson, "This is a lower adverse reaction rate than in the [diphtheria, polio, tetanus] vaccine that all our children have received"(qtd in Garamone 2). Are this statistics completely true?

A major part of the problem in assessing vaccine safety is in how vaccine adverse effects are reported. Many people who suffer from adverse anthrax vaccine effects are reluctant to step forward to seek medical care because they have seen their colleagues' concerns dismissed as due to depression or stress. They also fear that they could lose their ability to perform their duties, as a number of the pilots and airmen at Dover AFB are now on DNIF (duties not including flying) status because of undiagnosed illnesses that began after they received their anthrax vaccinations. Some of the side effects are frequent headaches and backaches, insomnia, physical and emotional exhaustion, skin itchiness, and blisters. What are the consequences, if U.S. troops refused the vaccine?

U.S troops, who refused to receive the anthrax vaccine for the first time, will be sent to an educational program, where they will be explained the consequences that result of not receiving the vaccine. If U.S military personnel refuse the vaccine for the second time, they face several procedures and punishments. First, they are granted a hearing before a board of Officers, in which they have to explain their case. Second, the board will deliberate the case and pass out a decree. Third, if found responsible of disobeying an order, they face a court-martial. While waiting for the court-martial, the U.S. troops have the last opportunity to agree on to get the vaccine. In case of an agreement, they are demoted, fined, and given extra duty for refusing to undergo the mandatory anthrax shots. If they could not reach an agreement, they will face a court-martial. If found guilty, they are sent to jail for up to 45 days and will be release with “other than honorable” discharge.

The U.S. military’s strategy of defense against Biological Weapons agents is prior immunization using multiple vaccines. Unfortunately, this can only be successful if the exact Biological weapons agents likely to be encountered are known in great detail and for some time in advance of exposure. For example, the vaccine against anthrax requires a rather lengthy immunization protocol, administering multiple vaccine and booster doses over more than a year. If multiple vaccines were to be administered, then they would have to be administered at different times to prevent immune suppression or excessive stimulation. Obviously, this strategy requires advance knowledge of the threat and careful long-term preparation against the threat. To prepare for any new threat that arises will require some time, possibly years or over a decade. Recent reports have appeared indicating that the Russians have developed anthrax strains for which it is claimed protective vaccines do not exist. What is the evidence that our ‘multivalent’ Bacillus anthracis vaccine will protect against all known anthrax strains?