§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Mr. Livingstone) on 24 June,Official Report, column 372, 564W if it is his practice to ensure that service personnel with allergic reactions or histories are identified prior to the offer or administration of counter-CBW medical preparations.
§ Mr. SoamesIt is standard medical practice to ensure that vaccines, whether against biological warfare or natural diseases, are withheld if individual recipients display contraindications, such as a history of severe allergic reaction to the vaccines concerned.
In the case of the nerve agent pretreatment set tablets taken against the threat of chemical attack, no medical evidence has been found, in over 40 years of therapeutic usage, that the active ingredient—pyridostigmine bromide —can cause allergic reactions.