United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2002-09-20 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:GAO-02-445 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-445 P0b002ee180394c55 f:d02445 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-445 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-445 GAO-02-445 Aircraft pilots Biological warfare Chemical and biological agents Emergency preparedness Health care planning Health care services Health hazards Immunization programs Immunization services Infectious diseases Military reserve personnel National Guard Safety Surveys CDC/FDA Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System Other Written Product A05107 GAO reviewed the views of pilots and aircrew members of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve regarding the Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program (AVIP) of the Department of Defense (DOD). In December 1997, the Secretary of Defense announced a plan to inoculate U.S. forces against the potential battlefield use of anthrax as a biological warfare (BW) agent. In the context of the conventional battlefield, the nature and magnitude of the military BW threat has not changed materially since 1990 in terms of the number of countries suspected of developing BW capability, the types of BW agents they possess, or their ability to weaponize and deliver BW agents. In marked contrast to other mandatory DOD immunization requirements, GAO's sample survey in 2000 showed that AVIP was at that time adversely affecting the retention of trained and experienced guard and reserve pilots and aircrew members. Between September 1998 and September 2000, 16 percent of the pilots and aircrew members of the guard and reserve had (1) transferred to another unit (primarily to nonflying positions to avoid or delay receiving the anthrax shots), (2) moved to inactive status, or (3) left the military. Additionally, one in five of those still participating in or assigned to a unit in 2000 indicated their intention to leave in the near future. At the time of the survey, two-thirds of the guard and reserve pilots and aircrew members did not support DOD's mandatory AVIP or any future immunization programs planned for other BW agents. However, these negative views did not appear to indicate a general antivaccine bias. On the basis of the survey, GAO estimated that 37 percent of the guard and reserve pilots and aircrew members had received one or more anthrax shots as of September 2000. Of these recipients, 85 percent reported experiencing some type of reaction. This overall rate reported for adverse reactions following anthrax immunization was more than double the rate published in the vaccine manufacturer's product insert that was in use at the time of the survey. Respondents to the survey indicated that they had not reported most of the reactions they cited to the military chain of command through official or informal channels and that they were not reported to Food and Drug Administration's Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). Reasons survey respondents gave for not reporting to the military chain of command included a lack of awareness of VAERS, a concern about the loss of flight status, a possibly adverse effect on military or civilian career, and a fear of ridicule. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-445/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-445.htm GAO-02-445 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-445 Other Written Product GAO-02-445; Anthrax Vaccine: GAO's Survey of Guard and Reserve Pilots and Aircrew; Aircraft pilots Biological warfare Chemical and biological agents Emergency preparedness Health care planning Health care services Health hazards Immunization programs Immunization services Infectious diseases Military reserve personnel National Guard Safety Surveys CDC/FDA Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System