What are the risks from anthrax vaccine?
Like any medicine, a vaccine could cause a serious problem, such as a severe allergic reaction. Anthrax is a very serious disease, and the risk of serious harm from the vaccine is extremely small. Mild Problems • Reactions on the arm where the shot was given: • Tenderness (about 1 person out of 2) • Redness (about 1 out of 7 men and 1 out of 3 women) • Itching (about 1 out of 50 men and 1 out of 20 women) • Lump (about 1 out of 60 men and 1 out of 16 women) • Bruise (about 1 out of 25 men and 1 out of 22 women) • Muscle aches or temporary limitation of arm movement (about 1 out of 14 men and 1 out of 10 women) • Headaches (about 1 out of 25 men and 1 out of 12 women) • Fatigue (about 1 out of 15 men, about 1 out of 8 women) Severe Problems • Serious allergic reaction (very rare – less than once in 100,000 doses). As with any vaccine, other severe problems have been reported. But these don’t appear to occur any more often among anthrax vaccine recipients than among unvaccinated people.
