Pentagon seeking emergency authorization to resume giving anthrax vaccine
PENTAGON The Pentagon is asking for emergency authority to resume giving troops the anthrax vaccine. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz made the request to the secretary of Health and Human Services last week. He says troops in South Korea and the Middle East face "a significant potential for a military emergency" but didn't describe any specific threat.
The military stopped giving the vaccinations in October after a federal judge found fault in how the drug was approved.
Since 1998, more than one million troops have been vaccinated. However hundreds of troops have been disciplined or even discharged for refusing the vaccine.
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