[109210] in Cypherpunks
SNET: Fwd: Sailors Refuse Anthrax Vaccinations
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Vladimir Z. Nuri)
Sat Mar 13 23:50:21 1999
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Date: Sat, 13 Mar 99 20:09:21 -0800
From: "Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>
Reply-To: "Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>
From: Knight1747@aol.com
Subject: SNET: Fwd: Sailors Refuse Anthrax Vaccinations
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 15:24:20 EST
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Sailors Refuse Anthrax Vaccinations
.c The Associated Press
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- Twenty-three sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS
Theodore Roosevelt have been demoted, fined and given extra duty for refusing
to take mandatory anthrax vaccinations, according to the Navy.
The refusals are the latest headache for the Defense Department, which has
encountered resistance as it seeks to inoculate all 2.4 million active duty
and reserve military members by 2005.
The New York Times reported today that the Marines Corps has been
particularly hard-hit, with more than two dozen Marines in Okinawa refusing
the vaccine.
The vaccinations were ordered a year ago by Defense Secretary William Cohen
for all military units sent to the Persian Gulf.
Initially, 38 Roosevelt sailors balked at the vaccinations, which began two
weeks ago as the carrier prepared for a six-month deployment starting March
26. Some sailors later changed their minds, Navy officials said.
In the past year, 50 to 100 service members are known to have resisted
inoculation. In February, 11 California Air Force Reserve pilots chose to quit
rather than take the anthrax vaccine.
One of them, Airman 1st Class Jeffrey Bettendorf, 25, chose an ``other than
honorable'' discharge to avoid a special court-martial. He said his research
showed the vaccine is untested and unreliable.
The Navy confirmed the Roosevelt situation Wednesday following an inquiry by
The Virginian-Pilot, which received an anonymous e-mail message from a sailor
who said sailors were concerned about potential side effects.
``I was given nothing to explain what I was taking, so I did my own research
and found disturbing reports,'' the sailor said. ``We are scared.''
Cmdr. Garry Rudolph, a Navy doctor who directs the occupational health and
preventive medicine program at the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, said the
anthrax vaccine is safe.
Navy officials confirmed last year that a sailor on the destroyer USS John S.
McCain developed a temporary paralysis after being vaccinated. Officials said
the sailor fully recovered.
The Navy contends it has provided sailors with information about the vaccine,
answered their questions and offered counseling to those who initially
refused.
The holdouts on the Roosevelt were charged with disobeying an order and
punished with a reduction in pay, fines, restriction to the ship and extra
duty.
The Navy refused to identify any of those punished but said they may be given
administrative discharges once the ship returns.
AP-NY-03-11-99 0453EST
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP
news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise
distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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Subject: Sailors Refuse Anthrax Vaccinations
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 04:54:23 EST
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Sailors Refuse Anthrax Vaccinations
.c The Associated Press
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- Twenty-three sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS
Theodore Roosevelt have been demoted, fined and given extra duty for refusing
to take mandatory anthrax vaccinations, according to the Navy.
The refusals are the latest headache for the Defense Department, which has
encountered resistance as it seeks to inoculate all 2.4 million active duty
and reserve military members by 2005.
The New York Times reported today that the Marines Corps has been particularly
hard-hit, with more than two dozen Marines in Okinawa refusing the vaccine.
The vaccinations were ordered a year ago by Defense Secretary William Cohen
for all military units sent to the Persian Gulf.
Initially, 38 Roosevelt sailors balked at the vaccinations, which began two
weeks ago as the carrier prepared for a six-month deployment starting March
26. Some sailors later changed their minds, Navy officials said.
In the past year, 50 to 100 service members are known to have resisted
inoculation. In February, 11 California Air Force Reserve pilots chose to quit
rather than take the anthrax vaccine.
One of them, Airman 1st Class Jeffrey Bettendorf, 25, chose an ``other than
honorable'' discharge to avoid a special court-martial. He said his research
showed the vaccine is untested and unreliable.
The Navy confirmed the Roosevelt situation Wednesday following an inquiry by
The Virginian-Pilot, which received an anonymous e-mail message from a sailor
who said sailors were concerned about potential side effects.
``I was given nothing to explain what I was taking, so I did my own research
and found disturbing reports,'' the sailor said. ``We are scared.''
Cmdr. Garry Rudolph, a Navy doctor who directs the occupational health and
preventive medicine program at the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, said the
anthrax vaccine is safe.
Navy officials confirmed last year that a sailor on the destroyer USS John S.
McCain developed a temporary paralysis after being vaccinated. Officials said
the sailor fully recovered.
The Navy contends it has provided sailors with information about the vaccine,
answered their questions and offered counseling to those who initially
refused.
The holdouts on the Roosevelt were charged with disobeying an order and
punished with a reduction in pay, fines, restriction to the ship and extra
duty.
The Navy refused to identify any of those punished but said they may be given
administrative discharges once the ship returns.
AP-NY-03-11-99 0453EST
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP
news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise
distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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NewsProfiles</A>.
For all of today's news, go to keyword <A HREF="aol://1722:News">News</A>.
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