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Tripler: Anthrax
vaccine causes
minor ill effects

Other studies also find a small
percentage reacting negatively
to injections

Staff and wire reports

Studies of the health effects of the anthrax vaccine given to U.S. military personnel, including one at Tripler Hospital, have found no unexpected adverse reactions, federal health officials say.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a small percentage of service members complained of muscle or joint aches, headache, or fatigue after being vaccinated, according to Reuters news service.

A study at Tripler found that 7.9 percent of 595 health-care workers surveyed sought medical advice or took time off duty because of minor side effects after receiving their first dose of vaccine, Reuters said.

"I can tell you that the study at Tripler, which is basically a questionnaire that soldiers fill out a couple weeks after they have taken the vaccine, began in October 1998," said Margaret Tippy, Tripler public affairs officer.

"It's a six-shot series, so every time the soldier receives a shot they fill out another one of the questionnaires," she said.

An officer more informed about the study was not available for further comment, Tippy said.

The CDC said three separate surveys found no unexpected reactions to the vaccine.

The studies indicated that women were more likely than men to report minor side effects, but researchers said they did not know why.

The U.S. Department of Defense, concerned about the threat of biological warfare, launched a program in May 1998, to administer a six-dose anthrax vaccine to all 2.4 million active and reserve military personnel by the year 2004.

As of February, more than 400,000 service members had received the mandatory anthrax inoculations. About 350 military personnel have refused vaccination, in some cases because they were concerned that the vaccine was unsafe or ineffective.

In Korea, 1.9 percent of 4,348 service members who had received at least two doses of the vaccine reported minor side effects that limited their work performance, but the effects generally only lasted a day and did not require medical intervention.

Overall, the Department of Defense said it has received 428 reports of adverse reactions.

In only 36 of those cases did military personnel require hospitalization or more than one day to recover from the side effects.

The CDC said early research indicates that injecting the vaccine into muscle, instead of directly below the skin, can reduce short-term side effects.

Anthrax spores are odorless, invisible and highly lethal when inhaled.

The Department of Defense describes the bacteria as 100,000 times more potent than the deadliest chemical-warfare agent.