Feds: No anthrax vaccine testing on kids - for now

WASHINGTON — - It will be a while longer before the government decides whether to test the anthrax vaccine in children.

A government advisory board said today that ethical issues need to be resolved — but if that is accomplished the vaccine could be tested in children to be sure it's safe and to learn the proper dose in case it's needed in a terrorist attack.

Because of concerns that terrorists might use the potentially deadly bacteria, the government has stockpiled the vaccine, which has been widely tested on adults but never on children.

The question is whether to do tests now so that doctors would know if children's immune systems respond to the shots well enough to signal protection.