Report: Pentagon smallpox immunizations run better than anthrax

The Defense Department has run its smallpox vaccination program better than its anthrax vaccination effort, according to a General Accounting Office report released this week.

In September 2002, GAO reported on the limited availability of the anthrax vaccine and a general frustration among military personnel with the information provided about the program.

By comparison, GAO said in the new report (GAO-04-215R), the Defense Department smoothed the progress of its smallpox vaccination program "by ensuring the availability of the vaccine and educating its personnel … both those who administered the vaccine and those who received it."

The Pentagon began smallpox vaccinations in January, inoculating more than 500,000 medical and support personnel in the first 10 months of the program. The anthrax vaccine became mandatory five years ago, and at least 37 members of the armed forces have been court-martialed for refusing the inoculation.

"To ease concerns about receiving the smallpox vaccine, commanding officers received training materials in advance and presented information to potential vaccinees before the vaccination process began," the report said.

The Pentagon also focused on limiting the amount of wasted vaccine, according to GAO. Officers told GAO investigators that the education and waste management efforts were put in place to avoid problems the Pentagon encountered with the anthrax program.