Cadets Given Double Dose of Vaccine
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FORT LEWIS, Wash. — Twenty-five ROTC cadets at an Army training camp were administered nearly double the proper dose of the anthrax vaccine, Army officials said Monday.
Madigan Army Medical Center officials blamed the higher doses on a “communications error.” The vaccines were given Friday during the 2000 Advanced Camp for the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at Fort Lewis.
There are few side effects associated with receiving a higher dose of the vaccine, other than soreness in the arm where the shot was administered, the medical center said in a statement. The cadets were given Tylenol and Benadryl to ease any discomfort.
The cadets have since returned to training and have not complained of any adverse symptoms, Madigan spokeswoman Sharon Ayala said.
Anthrax is a disease that typically afflicts animals, especially sheep and cattle. Dry anthrax spores, which can be put into weapons, can be fatal to humans when inhaled.
In 1998, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen ordered all 2.4 million active duty and reserve troops to get anthrax vaccine shots.
Federal officials have repeatedly said the vaccine is safe.
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