Why immunise personnel routinely – can you just immunise the units that need it as and when?
A. Like other vaccinations, immunisation against anthrax takes time to become fully effective – around six months. This is much longer than the warning we might have of a change in the threat, and longer than the time-scales over which UK Forces could be asked to deploy to a high threat area. We cannot expect to predict exactly where or when a threat might arise, or which units of our Armed Forces might be called upon to respond. Therefore, it makes sense to offer it routinely, to all personnel, in advance.
