Anthrax Vaccine Supplier Sought

By David Briscoe

Associated Press Writer

Tuesday, July 11, 2000; 5:00 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON –– The Pentagon said Tuesday it is looking for a second supplier of the anthrax vaccine it still hopes to give its entire military and civilian force.

Dwindling supplies have forced the Defense Department to end inoculations for all troops except those in South Korea and the Persian Gulf region.

"We thought we were on safer ground than we turned out to be," said Maj. Gen. Randy L. West, senior Pentagon adviser on chemical and biological protection.

Admitting that a second source should have been found when the ambitious mandatory vaccination campaign began in 1998, West said the sole contractor for the vaccine, Bioport of Lansing, Mich., has agreed to cooperate with another manufacturer.

Bioport has been supplying vaccine from its dwindling stockpile while having trouble getting Food and Drug Administration approval for production from a new manufacturing plant.

"Because of the problems we've had and the lessons we've learned, we feel its worth the investment to stand up a second source," West said. "Since 1998, the threat has only increased."

The Pentagon formally has called for proposals for a second source in a process that could take years, since it requires FDA approval for the new manufacturer. Bioport's new vaccine is not expected to be available before the end of the year.

Anthrax vaccines are produced in Britain and Russia, but neither has FDA approval for U.S. use, and Britain's vaccine also is in limited supply for its nonmandatory program. The Russians use a live vaccine which likely would not be considered, West said.

Even with the slowdown in vaccinations announced Monday by Defense Secretary William Cohen, the vaccine supply will run out in six to 10 months, West said.

About 57,000 troops and other military employees have been fully immunized, with 1.8 million of the more than 15 million shots needed to fully immunize everyone now in the U.S. military. Each employee requires six shots and then annual boosters to remain fully protected against the deadly virus U.S. officials fear could be used by enemy forces or terrorists.

"We wish we were vaccinating the whole force now, but we're running about a year behind in our planned schedule," West said.

Inoculations will be limited to troops who are to be deployed to or are already in the Middle East and South Korea, where the Pentagon feels the threat is most serious. About 37,000 troops are in Korea and 10,000 in nine other countries where the vaccine will still be given.

Some military members are refusing to take the vaccine – 351 at latest count. They fear potentially damaging side effects, although the Pentagon insists the vaccine is safe. More than 800 personnel have complained of bad reactions to the shots. Some members of Congress have urged Cohen to end the program until a safer vaccine is found.

West said no additional vaccine from the stockpile is being tested, because it is being held in reserve in case supplies get critically low.

The 455,000 soldiers and others who have received at least some of the shots should be able to pick up the series again when more vaccine becomes available, said Dr. J. Jarrett Clinton, a Pentagon assistant on health affairs. They will still have immunity from a few weeks to several months, depending on how many shots they have had, he said.

The Pentagon had been giving about 75,000 shots a month. Limiting the doses to soldiers at the highest risk will reduce that level to 14,000.