Frequent deployments require emphasis on vaccinations Published April 18, 2005 By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Frequent, short-notice deployments worldwide demand the military step up its emphasis on keeping the force vaccinated for contingencies it may face, said the Defense Department’s deputy director for the Military Vaccine Agency.The expeditionary nature of the force requires that DOD officials plan ahead to provide servicemembers the best possible protection against disease and illness when they deploy, said Army Col. John Grabenstein.“Vaccinations have always been about planning ahead,” he said. “We try to anticipate what is going to happen at the other end of that plane flight to the deployment area.”As a result, DOD officials are conducting more surveillance about infections and diseases that servicemembers need to be protected against, Federal Drug Administration-approved vaccines to counter them, and Centers for Disease Control guidelines for administering these vaccines.DOD officials are also making a greater effort to ensure servicemembers’ shot records are up to date. This way, when a short-notice deployment occurs, the affected troops need only those shots specific to their deployment area, not “a big, long laundry list of vaccines,” Colonel Grabenstein said.This effort includes more screening of reservists and guardsmen, checking their immunizations records each fall when they receive their flu shots to ensure they are current. Reserve-component troops generally require more shots than their active-component counterparts when preparing for deployments, Colonel Grabenstein said.When entering the military, all servicemembers receive a basic list of immunizations: meningococcal; tetanus and diphtheria; measles, mumps and rubella; and poliovirus. Other vaccines are frequently prescribed for travel to specific international locations or for certain occupations, Colonel Grabenstein said.Other vaccines protect against bioweapons such as anthrax and smallpox. DOD officials put the anthrax vaccination program on hold in 2004 pending legal challenges, but supports findings the vaccine is safe and effective.Mandatory immunizations for servicemembers protect the fighting force and keep it fighting, much as body armor does, Colonel Grabenstein said.Since the first vaccine, against smallpox, was introduced in the late 1700s, no other medical technology has surpassed immunization in protecting people against diseases, he said. “It’s the biggest success story in all of medicine,” he said.