Soldier Refuses Anthrax Vaccine

Government: "Vaccines threaten up to 44,000 soldiers"

"This really is like Russian roulette. Spin the chamber and take your shot"

A U.S. soldier in Iraq is being punished for refusing an anthrax vaccine that has a questionable safety record and apparently will be drummed out of the service.

But such punishments may be of no avail to the military; the word already is out in a government report that up to an estimated 44,000 service members could end up with "severe adverse events (including) disability or death" from such mandatory medicines.

The recent case involves Pfc. Leif Hamre, 22, who reports he's been subjected to threats and intimidation after refusing to take the controversial anthrax vaccine and was given a variety of punishments, including 18-hour work days.

Hamre reports he was given an ultimatum in June to take the vaccine or be punished but couldn't accept the medication, especially after he discovered the military wasn't even handling the vaccines under the rules for storing it at the correct temperature.

In an open letter to friends and family members, he said, "The tactics they have used to coerce me into taking the shot are unregulated, unscrupulous and downright un-American."

He reported he then was given an Article 15 – a non-judicial punishment in the military – and his mother reported he was taken off missions, assigned extra duty and had his pay scale lowered.

The controversial shots first were mandated for U.S. military troops heading to the Middle East for the Gulf War in 1991, then required in the late 1990s and again for the Iraq War in 2003.

But the vaccine has been linked by investigative journalist Gary Matsumoto in his book, "Vaccine-A," to the Gulf War Syndrome, and a recent report from the General Accounting Office even confirmed that tens of thousands of soldiers are expected to suffer significant health threats from the mandatory vaccinations.

For the rest of the story - http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58419

Comments

[Monika]

I was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and we were required to begin the Anthrax series of vaccinations. Not surprisingly the lot number was recalled because of potential contamination, so the vaccinations ceased. And for the next 4 years, up until my separation from the military this year, I was never forced to receive the vaccine. It was voluntary and there was no backlash if any soldier did refuse (and I of course always refused). It's sad that all this punishment was doled out over a simple shot, that isn't even necessary in relation to the degree of threat.