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Stryker soldiers get anthrax shots

Apr-18-2007 » Filed Under: 4/2 SBCT

CHRISTIAN HILL; The Olympian

Nearly 4,000 soldiers assigned to a Stryker combat brigade in transit to Iraq are the first from Fort Lewis to receive a controversial anthrax vaccine since the shots again became mandatory for select U.S. service members.

On Feb. 8, the Army and the other service branches resumed mandatory inoculations for U.S. service members deploying to the Middle East and South Korea for more than 15 days, as well as those responsible for homeland bioterrorism defense.

Since then, Madigan Army Medical Center has administered 6,225 doses to soldiers, hospital spokeswoman Sharon Ayala said. The vaccine is delivered through six shots over an 18-month period, followed by an annual booster shot. Subsequent shots will be given to the soldiers where they’re stationed overseas.

No soldier has refused the vaccine, Ayala said.

Airmen from McChord Air Force Base also are receiving the vaccine.

The 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team recently departed Fort Lewis to serve for a year in Iraq.

The government has insisted that studies prove the vaccine is safe and effective. However, the vaccine has been a source of controversy for years. [...]


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