BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- A recent fraudulent social media meme about the anthrax vaccine is reappearing on social media. The meme claims that service members stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY or Ft. Drum, NY between 2001 and 2007 received a “bad batch” of the vaccine. The meme initially appeared in spring of 2018 and was debunked, and an Army memo about this subject was issued.
The meme has recently resurfaced, particularly in online communities of Airmen stationed in Japan and Korea. The anthrax vaccine has been safely used in the U.S. for nearly 50 years, and multiple independent studies have found no link between the vaccine and any long-term health problems. No so-called “bad-batch” of anthrax vaccine has ever been distributed by the DoD. For more information, visit www.health.mil/Anthrax.
Contact 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs by e-mail at 2bw.pa@us.af.mil or by phone at 318-456-1015 for more information.