Demand growing for anthrax vaccine

The nation’s only vaccine approved against anthrax has never been a best-seller. The only civilians who ever needed it were ranchers, hide handlers, veterinarians and the few scientists who worked with the deadly soil bacterium. Sept. 11 changed all that. Doctors’ offices and travel clinics around the country have been swamped with requests for the vaccine amid concern that the tragedies in New York and Washington might foreshadow a bioterrorist attack. More than 1,000 people in the past two weeks have tried to get shots directly from the vaccine’s maker, BioPort of Lansing, Mich. Callers there are being shunted to a recorded message that reflects what doctors everywhere are saying: “All the stockpile that currently exists is owned by the Department of Defense. At this time there is no opportunity for any commercial sales.” Yet BioPort’s vaccine was until two weeks ago perhaps the most shunned and controversial shot ever produced. For years it has been at the center of a political, medical and legal struggle, with more than 400 members of the military opting to quit or be court-martialed rather than roll up their sleeves. In May, two Air Force officers filed a federal class action suit, contending that the vaccine should be classified as “investigational” for inhaled anthrax and should be offered only to volunteers who sign informed-consent documents clearly stating they are subjects in an experiment.