THE VACCINATION DEBATE

April 2000
		Should soldiers be forced to take the anthrax vaccination? The head of the program and one of its leading critics takes your questions.

April 10, 2000: A full report on the continuing fight over anthrax vaccinations. November 1999: FORUM: Anthrax and Its Vaccine Oct. 21, 1999: A report on the health debate raging over the anthrax vaccine. Jan. 7, 1997: Gulf War Syndrome Update. Nov. 7, 1996: Chemical weapons debate. Sept. 11, 1996: Chemical weapons vote. Browse the NewsHour's coverage of defense and health.     Anthrax, from the Secretary of Defense Centers for Disease Control and Prevention American Gulf War Veterans Association Anthrax Links and Information: Created by opponents of the vaccine	In hopes of protecting members of the armed forces, the Defense Department began a program two years ago to inoculate 2.5 million people for the deadly anthrax bacteria. But recently, a congressional committee investigating the vaccination program called into question the safety of the shots and said the Pentagon was ignoring increasing reports of adverse reaction among military members. The Pentagon was quick to defend the inoculations, saying only 620 people of the 400,000 vaccinated has experienced side effects and most of those were extremely mild. "The Defense Department is very confident in the anthrax program that we have undertaken," Pentagon spokeswoman Sue Bailey told reporters. But a survey done by a member of the the 9th Airlift Squadron at Dover Air Force Base found that 32 percent of those questioned had adverse reactions to the shot. [Click here for the full report in Adobe Acrobat format] What do you think? Are the anthrax vaccinations safe? Should the shots be mandatory? Col. Gaston Randolph, director of the Pentagon's Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program, and Redmond Handy, founder of the National Organization of Americans Battling Unnecessary Servicemember Endangerment (NO ABUSE), answer your questions about the vaccination program.