U.S. CODE

U.S. Code

§ 1110. Anthrax vaccine immunization program; procedures for exemptions and monitoring reactions

(a) Procedures for Medical and Administrative Exemptions.—

(1) The Secretary of Defense shall establish uniform procedures under which members of the armed forces may be exempted from participating in the anthrax vaccine immunization program for either administrative or medical reasons.

(2) The Secretaries of the military departments shall provide for notification of all members of the armed forces of the procedures established pursuant to paragraph (1).

(b) System for Monitoring Adverse Reactions.—

(1) The Secretary shall establish a system for monitoring adverse reactions of members of the armed forces to the anthrax vaccine. That system shall include the following:

(A) Independent review of Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System reports.

(B) Periodic surveys of personnel to whom the vaccine is administered.

(C) A continuing longitudinal study of a pre-identified group of members of the armed forces (including men and women and members from all services).

(D) Active surveillance of a sample of members to whom the anthrax vaccine has been administered that is sufficient to identify, at the earliest opportunity, any patterns of adverse reactions, the discovery of which might be delayed by reliance solely on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.

(2) The Secretary may extend or expand any ongoing or planned study or analysis of trends in adverse reactions of members of the armed forces to the anthrax vaccine in order to meet any of the requirements in paragraph (1).

(3) The Secretary shall establish guidelines under which members of the armed forces who are determined by an independent expert panel to be experiencing unexplained adverse reactions may obtain access to a Department of Defense Center of Excellence treatment facility for expedited treatment and follow up.

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