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Judge: Government’s mandatory anthrax vaccine program illegal

Infection Control Monitor, October 29, 2004

Federal officials may no longer force troops to get anthrax shots following a federal judge's ruling this week that the mandatory vaccination program is illegal, the Washington Post reports.

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ruled that the federal Food and Drug Administration acted improperly when it approved the experimental injection for general use. More than 1.2 million troops have received inoculations since the vaccination program began in 1998, including many soldiers serving in Iraq.

The government has agreed to discontinue administering anthrax vaccinations while it reviews the decision.

In calling the program illegal, Sullivan said the FDA's approval was invalid because it did not meet the required review standards and the agency failed to seek the necessary public comment.

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