Protecting Our Forces: Improving Vaccine Acquisition and Availability in the U.S. Military

Infectious diseases continue to pose a substantial threat to the operational capacity of military forces. The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies to review the process by which the U.S. military acquires vaccines to protect its warfighters from natural infectious disease threats. The resulting IOM Committee on a Strategy for Minimizing the Impact of Naturally Occurring Infectious Diseases of Military Importance: Vaccine Issues in the U.S. Military, convened in April 2000, reviewed aspects of the Military Infectious Diseases Research Program. In its report, the Committee makes nine recommendations aimed at improving the coordination of the entire gamut of activities— from identifying the need for protection against an infectious agent through product licensure and continued availability.