Anthrax Shots for Troops May Resume

Federal health officials have granted emergency authority for U.S. military personnel to receive the anthrax vaccine, and the Pentagon said Tuesday it planned to ask a federal judge to allow vaccinations to resume.

Under the authority granted by the Food and Drug Administration, the military would be allowed to vaccinate U.S. forces for six months but could not punish people who refused a shot, according to a court filing Tuesday. Defense officials say military forces are at heightened risk of an anthrax attack.

But the Pentagon must first get U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan to agree. “This step could take some time,” a Pentagon official said.

Ruling in a lawsuit by six members of the armed forces, Sullivan suspended anthrax vaccinations in late October after he found fault in the FDA’s process for approving the drug.

The government, however, acknowledged that 931 people were “mistakenly vaccinated” after Sullivan ordered the halt Oct. 27, including about 150 in January. The Defense Department “recognizes and takes seriously its obligations to cease all inoculations and is redoubling its efforts” to comply with the court order, the Justice Department filing said.

Defense officials have insisted that the vaccine is safe and noted that the judge has not disagreed. The lawsuit argued that the vaccine was experimental and that it was being improperly used for inhalation anthrax as well as exposure to the bacteria through the skin.

The Pentagon sought emergency authority under the Project BioShield Act of 2004, which said the Department of Health and Human Services, in response to a terrorist attack or other emergency, could allow the use of drugs that had not finished the FDA approval process, officials said.

Tommy G. Thompson signed the emergency-use declaration last month, shortly before stepping down as Health and Human Services secretary, department spokesman Bill Pierce said.

The FDA told the Pentagon that vaccinations could resume, with one important condition: Military personnel could refuse a shot without fear of punishment.