Americans serving with the US Armed Forces need protection from the dangerous infections that they can contract during training, based on occupation, during overseas deployment, or because of underlying health status. For over 230 years, the military health-care system has immunized troops to protect them personally and to help them accomplish their missions. Military researchers have invented, developed, and improved vaccines and immunization delivery methods against more than 20 diseases. This article consolidates content from several previous historical reviews, adds additional sources, and cites primary literature regarding military contributions and accomplishments. Discussion emphasizes smallpox, typhoid fever, tetanus, influenza, meningococcal disease, adenovirus, yellow fever, pneumococcal disease, and anthrax. Delivery issues include documentation, simultaneous immunization, seroscreening, safety surveillance, jet injection, and cold-chain management. Immunization policies for each major US conflict are described. Military immunization programs need to be individualized on the basis of personal contraindications and prior immunity. The proper conduct of military immunization programs respects the need for detailed education of military personnel, maximizes quality in immunization delivery, and supports quality clinical care to prevent and treat adverse events after immunization. Military immunization programs maintain the health of soldiers, marines, sailors, airmen, and coast guardsmen, the resources most critical to military success.

Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 Immunization to Protect the U.S. Armed Forces 2 REPORT DATE Immunization to Protect the U.S. Armed Forces:Heritage, Current Practice, ProspectsImmunization protects the personal health of United States military personnel and maintains their mission readiness. The immunization program of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is broad-ranging, protecting the forces from an array of pathogenic threats. Because the active and reserve components of the U.S. DoD consist of over 2.2 million people at any given time, the program immunizes a significant percentage of the U.S. adult population.This article updates and expounds on previous reviews of the U.S. military immunization program, (1-7) discussing historical perspectives, the rationale for current immunization policies, and future prospects. Military immunization requirements often exceed those provided to civilian adults, because of the travel and other occupational hazards confronted by soldiers, marines, sailors, airmen, and coast guardsmen. Military immunization requirements are quite similar for each of the five Armed Forces (i.e., Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard). The requirements and recommendations are described in a joint immunization regulation, (8) summarized in table 1.Immunizations have both direct benefit to the recipient and indirect benefit to the people in the community the vaccinee resides in or works with (i.e., "herd immunity"). "Herd immunity" or "community immunity" results when a decreased number of susceptible people and the decreased excretion of infectious particles impairs disease transmission. In military settings, the indirect benefit takes on an additional dimension, insofar as an immunized service member is less likely to succumb to a disease that threatens his or her team's mission. By staying healthy, the immunized service member helps other team members accomplish their mission and return home safely. Due to both direct and indirect benefits, most U.S. military immunizations are required, rather than voluntary. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate records used to document immunizations of troops during World War II.Senior preventive-medicine officers from the five Armed Services develo...

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract