Many Service Members Refusing Vaccine

[applegrove]

Many Service Members Refusing Vaccine

February 20, 2021 at 9:26 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

https://politicalwire.com/2021/02/20/many-service-members-refusing-vaccine/

"SNIP.......

“By the thousands, U.S. service members are refusing or putting off the Covid-19 vaccine as frustrated commanders scramble to knock down internet rumors and find the right pitch that will persuade troops to get the shot,” the AP reports.

“Some Army units are seeing as few as one-third agree to the vaccine.”

.......SNIP"

[Dorian Gray]

1. This concerns me

primarily because it's inductive of who they're getting their news/info from....

And that doesn't make me feel good about their alliances.

[applegrove]

11. I bet the ones who conceived of spreading the anti vax meme to include MAGAs and Covid

had the idea that automation was going to make a lot of workers redundant so why not. I mean Trump pulled out of WHO during the pandemic. Who does that? Trump refused to sign up the USA in supporting COVAX too.

"SNIP.......

Wikipedia:

COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a global initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines led by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and others. It is one of the three pillars of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, an initiative begun in April 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission, and the government of France as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVAX aims to coordinate international resources to enable the equitable access of COVID-19 diagnostics, treatments, and COVID-19 vaccines.[1]

.....SNIP"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVAX

[MyMission]

23. Active Military refusing should be investigated

If they're getting their news and misinformation from rw sites, social media, other service members they may be compromised. Racists, cult 45 members, Q nuts, or just suspicious, manipulated, or misguided. If those refusing were investigated they'd figure out which.

My friend sent me a link to a long video interview that had a former career military MD talking about biological warfare and covid vaccine; how enemies would introduce another virus in several years that we would die from if we'd been vaccinated, due to something or other, related to changing our DNA? Very good credentials, built up to the dangers of the vaccine, sounded very eloquent and informed but then she mentioned things that made my hackles rise. The main one was the biological warfare wiping out the military, but other lies mixed with a bit of truth (vit D benefits) Didn't watch the whole thing. I can imagine if enough military saw that or something like that, told their comrades, they might feel more suspicious of the vaccine. I looked up the websites referenced in the video and they were RW, Rethug, John Birch, crazy town. (My friend is a Dem, a bit suspicious of the vaccine so it got her attention but she didn't realize where it came from and apologized for sending it.)

This concerns me too. Some here suggested they be kicked out for refusing. I think they should be investigated if they refuse, because they could present a threat to our democracy if they have unacceptable alliances. Others suggested it could be a threat to out security, if enemies know our military is not vaccinated soldiers could be exposed en mass to disrupt and disable them. Either way, our military are not private citizens and have largely ceded their autonomy when they enlisted. They need to be vaccinated, and investigated, and reprogrammed or removed if they refuse.

Perhaps Lloyd Austin will address this while he has the military go into stepdown.

[demtenjeep]

2. they get anthrax vaccines why the F do they get to refuse this?

the army says stick em-they stick em

[Drahthaardogs]

18. Because they are still classified as experimental

Once they are normalized they will be taking it

[Reader Rabbit]

3. It shouldn't be up to them.

If you refuse a direct order, you get the boot. Or the brig.

When you're a civilian, you can be as anti-vax as you want.

[kskiska]

4. I never knew they had a choice.

[NutmegYankee]

21. It's because of the Emergency Use Authorization.

The military will make it mandatory once it has received the full FDA approvals.

[Claire Oh Nette]

5. E.D.

Erectile disfunction is a known long term side effect of COVID. That's the approach for those rw anti science anti vax idiots, in and out of the armed forces.

I'd think demonstration of anti science stupidity puts the unit at risk. Get vaccinated, or resign yourself to isolated outposts, or resign, or get discharged other than honorably. This is dangerous ignorance and defiance.

[patricia92243]

6. I thought when you're in the Army you had to do what they tell you. I don't

understand letting them make a choice.

[RainCaster]

7. It's simple: "no vaccine, you're out"

No alternative

[albacore]

8. I don't recall being asked...

.webp

[Skittles]

19. I don't either!

WTF!

[cwydro]

35. I wasn't asked, and we were in a line just like that one.

Can you imagine if someone had dared to argue? “I say, my good sergeant, I’d prefer not to have that shot, thank you very much.”

Hell, I don’t remember if they even told us what we were getting.

[tavernier]

9. My grandson's best friend is in the Navy.

He got Covid at Christmas time and he was deathly ill. 23 years old. Hard to say what kind of after effects there will be on his body from here on in.

[OnDoutside]

24. Apparently they are working hard on therapeutics for people in that

situation, which hopefully will reduce the damage to some extent. I heard Andy Slavitt speak about this in the last week or so.

[tavernier]

26. I don't know if he will receive any type of therapeutics.

He was lucky to get a warm blanket. He was diagnosed on the ship during quarantine after his sick roommate had been taken off. Once he started having symptoms he was taken to a hotel and put in a private room. He face timed us and we were shocked to see him so ill. During the night they came in and moved him to a different room, perhaps even a different hotel. It all got a little confusing because he was a bit delirious from the fever. As to why he was in a hotel and not a hospital was very strange, but we saw it clearly on face time. He was bundled up in his jacket and hoodie, said he was freezing. This was during the height of his fever and I felt so bad for him because there was no one there to help him or make him feel better. So it doesn’t sound to me like he would be placed in any special therapeutic program.

[OnDoutside]

28. That's terrible, but I got the understanding that these therapeutics will be for those who will be

recovering from the ravages of the illness in the months to come. At the moment, there isn't much can be done when he is at this stage.

Dr Vin Gupta has spoken about giving people (already medically challenged) therapeutics as soon as they test positive, which is what Trump got, but other than that it is like Russian Roulette to see who dies and who survives.

'Help lessen the load'

A common approach to treating viruses is to give treatments as early as possible, when there's a lesser amount of virus in the body, making it easier for drugs to vanquish it. It's why, for example, the antiviral drug Tamiflu is meant to be given within 48 hours of a person's coming down with the flu.

But drugs like this — which could prevent people from being hospitalized in the first place — are in very limited supply for Covid-19.

Although progress has been made on therapeutics — with one authorized drug, the steroid dexamethasone, shown to help severely ill hospitalized patients, and another, Gilead's remdesivir, which has been approved by the FDA, which may shorten hospital stay — the FDA has authorized just two therapies designed to keep Covid-19 patients out of the hospital.

The treatments — monoclonal antibodies from drugmakers Regeneron and Eli Lilly — are meant to mimic the body's immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, and are authorized for patients at high risk of getting much worse and needing hospitalization.

Regeneron executives have said the company has 80,000 doses ready now to distribute and will ramp up to 300,000 doses in January. Eli Lilly expects that it will supply the U.S. with 350,000 doses of its monoclonal antibody treatment by the end of the month.

But the supply of either treatment so far is not enough to meet demand.Over the past week, the average number of daily cases has surpassed 200,000. And the treatments must be given early, before a patient is sick enough to require hospitalization. That means testing must be readily available, with results delivered quickly.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/help-way-how-u-s-will-turn-tide-pandemic-2021-n1250353

[Ex Lurker]

10. Because it's an emergency use authorization, not a regular approval, they have a choice

Ordinarily they wouldn't

[helpisontheway]

12. Well, I'm a retired military spouse waiting for the military treatment facility to have

vaccine for us. Hope they have vaccine for us (dependents that want to be vaccinated)soon.

[cwydro]

13. "Refusing" shots was not an option when I was in.

Wow. Things have changed.

[Elwood P Dowd]

14. Same here.

Either get your shots or get your ass kicked.

[former9thward]

16. Nothing has changed.

The Covid vaccine was created under Emergency Use Authorization. Nothing you had was. That is the difference.

[cwydro]

30. I doubt we'd have even had the knowledge of any such thing.

After a week or two in Basic, no news, and never mind it was the 70s, we were just lined up and took the shots.

I remember a whole cup full of pills too, or so it seemed.

[liberalmuse]

15. So all an enemy of the US has to do is release a virus knowing soldiers are refusing vaccinations?

Or worse, they know our soldiers are undisciplined and will behave as individuals rather than a highly disciplined unit regardless of what they are told to do. When I was in the Army, you obeyed orders, period. This is a problem with commanders, not the soldiers and it looks very, very bad. What kind of leadership is trying to "persuade the troops"? WTF kind of military are we running these days? A military officer/commander orders his/her troops and they comply or are subject to discipline. Democracy does not apply to militaries for obvious reasons.

[Demonaut]

17. when do they have a choice?

take it, it's your duty

[demosincebirth]

20. When I was in the military we had to take vaccines, no and's, or if's, about it.

[roamer65]

22. We need to consider denying health care coverage to anyone for COVID who refuses the vaccine.

I think a good date would be after 1 January 2023.

If you do not get the vaccine after that date, you are liable for all hospitalization and health care costs related to the condition.

[gladium et scutum]

25. a long time ago

when I was a sailor, the corpsman set up his shot table in the pway just before the disbursing clerks window. No shot, no pay.

[pwb]

27. Hard to think the military age group is qualified for a vaccine yet?

Around here it is 60 or higher age or no shot. Most in military are young except for the lifers. You will get yours shots PWB that is an order. No refusing anything in my Service.

[Turin_C3PO]

29. I think the reason they can refuse

is because the vaccine is under emergency authorization. Once it leaves that status, I’m sure it will be made mandatory.

[HAB911]

31. When I was in the Army

shots were not optional

WTF happened?

[MarineCombatEngineer]

32. Same thing in the Marines.

Shots and pills were not optional.

[HAB911]

33. still have my little yellow vacs book!

[NurseJackie]

34. Make it mandatory and then discharge those who refuse ("other than honorable" conditions).

[Victor_c3]

36. Why do they even have a choice?

When I deployed to Iraq in 2004 I was given the Anthrax vaccine series. They never gave me a choice in the matter. It’s all about protecting the force.

[MineralMan]

37. Hmmm....I don't remember ever having an opportunity to refuse a vaccine.

I was in the USAF from 1965-9. I got vaccinations by the dozens. Nobody EVER asked me if I agreed to take them.

Maybe things have changed. I don't know.