Written question asked by Daniel Byles (Conservative) on Monday, 1 November 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 3 November 2010. It was answered by Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 15 November 2010 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Armed Forces: Smallpox

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministry of Defence personnel are vaccinated against smallpox for the purposes of first response in the event of a biological attack.

Answer: In 2003, a cohort of 107 key medical and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) specialist personnel were vaccinated against smallpox, in order that they could themselves act as vaccinators of further armed forces personnel in the event of an outbreak. In order to ensure that our future vaccination policy is based on an up-to-date, intelligence-informed assessment of the threat, a review of the Ministry of Defence's approach to smallpox vaccination is currently being undertaken.

Secondary information