Half of Military’s Anthrax Vaccine Will Be Stockpiled for Civilian Use

About half of the military’s supply of anthrax vaccine will be stockpiled for civilians in case of a bioterrorism attack, expanding protection once meant almost exclusively for U.S. troops, the government said Friday.

Vaccination of U.S. troops abroad remains the top priority, officials said at a joint announcement at the Pentagon by the departments of Defense and Health and Human Services.

“There is a domestic need for access to the vaccine,” so roughly half of the millions of doses available will be set aside for civilians, said William Winkenwerder, Defense Department aide for health affairs.

The vaccine will not be available for purchase by civilians, who will get the shots only if they are exposed to the deadly anthrax bacteria, said William Raub, an HHS deputy director for public health preparedness.

In contrast, the Pentagon program vaccinates soldiers ahead of time as a precaution against possible exposure.

Exposed citizens--whether police, emergency workers, or anyone--would get the vaccination along with antibiotics, a regimen offered to postal workers and others exposed in last fall’s still unsolved anthrax mail attacks.

Those attacks, along with the Sept. 11 hijacked plane attacks on America, have prompted the new policy to split the drug between civilian and military communities, officials said.

During the anthrax attacks, the health department received 10,000 doses of vaccine from the Pentagon to start its stockpile. Only 100 people exposed to mailed anthrax received doses.

Friday’s announcement means millions of doses will be added to what remains.