§ Lord Clement-Jonesasked Her Majesty' Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 12 May (WA 45–46), whether any part of the Gulf veterans' illnesses research will provide information on potential adverse consequences of the Ministry of Defence's decision to plan the timing of the anthrax immunisations of troops involved in the 1990–91 Gulf conflict differently from that in the marketing authorisation and to give fewer immunisations than were recommended. [HL3069]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach):Detailed information about the schedule of anthrax vaccinations offered to protect United Kingdom Forces during the 1990–91 Gulf conflict is contained in the paper Implementation of the Immunisation Programme against Biological Warfare Agents for UK Forces during the Gulf Conflict 1990/1991, a copy of which is in the Library of th House. The paper makes clear that the timing of the third anthrax vaccine dose was varied, and that the main immunisation programme was suspended before the point at which a fourth dose would have been due. There is no formal record of consultation between the Ministry of Defence and the manufacturer and supplier, the then Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research (CAMR), Porton Down about these variations. There is no association between failing to complete a course of immunisation and adverse health effects, other than possible failure to achieve full protection.
Information about the vaccine schedule associated with the core study of the MoD's vaccines interaction research programme was given in my Written Answer of 6 November (Official Report, col. WA 140) and 18 November 2003 (Official Report, col. WA 280). The schedule includes anthrax vaccinations at 0, 3, an, 7 weeks.