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
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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...