Pentagon Officials Say One In Three Military Troops Are Refusing The Coronavirus Vaccine

[Bum]

About two-thirds of U.S. troops who have been offered the coronavirus vaccine have accepted the jab, Pentagon officials said Wednesday, raising questions about the safety of the U.S. armed forces as reports of coronavirus outbreaks still plague the military.
oint Staff vice director of operations Gen. Jeff Taliaferro told the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday that “very early data” shows about a third of U.S. troops who are able to get a coronavirus vaccine decline to do so.

Pentagon Officials Say One In Three Military Troops Are Refusing The Coronavirus Vaccine (forbes.com)

Sounds like the DoD needs to do a better job of educating the servicemembers, and the FDA needs to get on the ball and ensure the vaccines are safe enough for full use approval.

 

[joko104]

Since when did the military make vaccinations optional?

 

[Bum]

Since when did the military make vaccinations optional?

The covid vaccine is not fully FDA approved; under "Emergency Use Authorization", DoD will not make such vaccines mandatory until it has full FDA approval.

 

[CaughtInThe]

well there's a problem i didn't anticipate.

 

[Bum]

In most contexts, it’s perfectly acceptable to use “approval” and “authorization” interchangeably. But not at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and definitely not when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines.

Approval — No COVID-19 vaccines have been approved. Approval means the FDA has officially decided that a product is safe and effective for its designated use. The process for approval involves rigorous reviews of all available data on the product and can take several months.

Authorization — To speed things up in an emergency like a pandemic, the FDA can grant an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). An EUA, as its name implies, authorizes a product for use during unusually urgent circumstances if the benefits of its use outweigh any known or potential risks. A vaccine that combats a global pandemic is an ideal candidate for an EUA.

 

[Rexedgar]

When I was in basic, we were lined up in the company area and filed through a choke point with technicians on each side, equipped with a pneumatic shotgun. The hot tip was don’t move or the shot will rip the skin......

 

[Bum]

When I was in basic, we were lined up in the company area and filed through a choke point with technicians on each side, equipped with a pneumatic shotgun. The hot tip was don’t move or the shot will rip the skin......

Been there, done that....and I have been on the delivery and of that process as well as the receiving end.

 

[VanceMack]

Since when did the military make vaccinations optional?

Perhaps when the vaccine offered has not been fully tested. Its also important to note that a large number of our military people MAY just be smart enough to recognize that they are young, healthy, do not have co-morbid conditions that make them more vulnerable to both catching the virus and to experiencing extremes of illness when/if they do contract the virus. Maybe they recognize that they arent in the high risk group AND that in the lessened chance of them contracting it they are much more likely to be in the 99.6% category of people that overcome the virus and not .4% of co-morbid senior citizens that are actually dying of it.

Or maybe they are tired of being used as test subject for vaccines that dont work. Perhaps they remember the Anthrax Vaccines that we all had to take that were given for strains and methods of contracting anthrax that we would never have been exposed to. Or the malaria pills we had to take on the off chance that our deployment might take us into areas that MAY have instances of malaria but are not likely to.

 

[Rexedgar]

Been there, done that....and I have been on the delivery and of that process as well as the receiving end.

I guess they were technicians, hell, they may have been cooks.....

 

[VanceMack]

Why do people believbe that unless EVERYONE lines up like the good little sheep they are being, that that somehow means they dont believe in science or arent actually opposed to ALL vaccinations or medications...just ones that have not been proven to actually be effective?

 

[Allan]

Since when did the military make vaccinations optional?

That would be my question as well. The last time there was a pandemic the troops didn't do well with it.

 

[swing_voter]

If you don't get the vaccine, it reduces your effectiveness.

I don't know about now, but back when I was in, reducing your effectiveness was a big no-no.

 

[MAGAnificent]

Since when did the military make vaccinations optional?

Good question. In my experience back in the 1970s, they were mandatory depending on where you were stationed. I recall getting as many as three at a time.

 

[Bum]

Good question. In my experience back in the 1970s, they were mandatory depending on where you were stationed. I recall getting as many as three at a time.

Vaccinations are still mandatory in the DoD and for deployment; however, the DoD cannot mandate a vaccine or medication that is not fully FDA approved....currently no covid vaccination has full FDA approval, only emergency use authorization.
Unit the FDA approves it fully, anyone is free to accept or refuse the vaccination.

 

[armycowboy]

Anyone else go through the anthrax program? Six shots for basic immunity and then yearly boosters. I ended up taking 10 of those shots. Doing push-ups immediately after receiving the shot helped prevent having a golf ball in your arm for a week.

 

[VySky]

The military is just showing the overall trend in America.

 

[Questerr]

Anyone else go through the anthrax program? Six shots for basic immunity and then yearly boosters. I ended up taking 10 of those shots. Doing push-ups immediately after receiving the shot helped prevent having a golf ball in your arm for a week.

I did the first two then managed to finagle/sham my way out of getting the remaining ones.

 

[armycowboy]

I did the first two then managed to finagle/sham my way out of getting the remaining ones.

I was in an ADA unit rotating into Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as part of Operation Southern Watch, at the time. I didn't have that luxury.

 

[Questerr]

I was in an ADA unit rotating into Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as part of Operation Southern Watch, at the time. I didn't have that luxury.

I mean, I went to Iraq. I found a way. The Specialist Sham Shield was strong with me when it came to shit like that.

 

[armycowboy]

I mean, I went to Iraq. I found a way. The Specialist Sham Shield was strong with me when it came to shit like that.

It wasn't mandatory, but it would have made you nondeployable. As a Staff Sergeant, at the time, it wouldn't have done wonders for my career.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

About two-thirds of U.S. troops who have been offered the coronavirus vaccine have accepted the jab, Pentagon officials said Wednesday, raising questions about the safety of the U.S. armed forces as reports of coronavirus outbreaks still plague the military.
oint Staff vice director of operations Gen. Jeff Taliaferro told the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday that “very early data” shows about a third of U.S. troops who are able to get a coronavirus vaccine decline to do so.

Pentagon Officials Say One In Three Military Troops Are Refusing The Coronavirus Vaccine (forbes.com)

Sounds like the DoD needs to do a better job of educating the servicemembers, and the FDA needs to get on the ball and ensure the vaccines are safe enough for full use approval.

The only reason they had to do Emergency Use Authorization is because vax mfrs skipped the sterilizing immunity (SI) studies which would have added one to two more years before the vax could be released. The safety studies were passed.
So the recent "official excuse" about EUA is flimsy, because these vaccines are GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) already.

And refusing to take prescribed meds is a Big Chicken Dinner, the military has to protect its members.
Refuse th e vax, get dragged before a tribunal.

 

[Bum]

The only reason they had to do Emergency Use Authorization is because vax mfrs skipped the sterilizing immunity (SI) studies which would have added one to two more years before the vax could be released. The safety studies were passed.
So the recent "official excuse" about EUA is flimsy, because these vaccines are GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) already.

And refusing to take prescribed meds is a Big Chicken Dinner, the military has to protect its members.
Refuse th e vax, get dragged before a tribunal.

You are speaking practicalities; I was speaking legalities.....until the FDA fully approves the vaccines based upon thier protocols and standards, no one can be forced to recieve the vaccine.

Until it is fully approved, forcing anyone to take any medication or vaccine not fully approved constitutes involuntary medical testing on humans; and there is no Agency in the USA that wants to be frog marched down that civil rights violation lawsuit road...not even the DoD.

 

[Bum]

Anyone else go through the anthrax program? Six shots for basic immunity and then yearly boosters. I ended up taking 10 of those shots. Doing push-ups immediately after receiving the shot helped prevent having a golf ball in your arm for a week.

Yeah.....it sucked donkey marbles; the only injection I truly despised was Gamma Globulin....we received it before deploying to Egypt for MFO, or to anywhere else in the ME or Africa.

It was like having Karo syrup injected into your butt.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

You are speaking practicalities; I was speaking legalities.....until the FDA fully approves the vaccines based upon thier protocols and standards, no one can be forced to recieve the vaccine.

Until it is fully approved, forcing anyone to take any medication or vaccine not fully approved constitutes involuntary medical testing on humans; and there is no Agency in the USA that wants to be frog marched down that civil rights violation lawsuit road...not even the DoD.

Having one-third as potential carriers and victims both is going to cripple the military, so from where I sit, SI studies should not be part of the process at all, because sterilizing immunity isn't even guaranteed in any vaccine in the first place.
It's just a lucky bonus with some of them. If the GRAS studies pass, then it should be fully approved.

Think of it as a car model that comes with or without air conditioning. Either way, the DOT is going to approve the car.

 

[Bum]

Having one-third as potential carriers and victims both is going to cripple the military, so from where I sit, SI studies should not be part of the process at all, because sterilizing immunity isn't even guaranteed in any vaccine in the first place.
It's just a lucky bonus with some of them. If the GRAS studies pass, then it should be fully approved.

Think of it as a car model that comes with or without air conditioning. Either way, the DOT is going to approve the car.

I get what you are saying, but until the DOT certifies a vehicle, it still isn't road legal.