Anthrax Vaccinations

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23 sailors refuse to take anthrax vaccine

1999 Associated Press

NORFOLK, Va. March 11, 1999

Twenty-three sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt

have been demoted, fined and given extra duty for refusing to take

anthrax vaccinations, according to the U.S. Navy.

The Defense Department 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 Thursday that the Marines Corps also has had

more than two dozen Marines in Okinawa refusing the vaccine.

The vaccinations were ordered a year ago by Defense Secretary

Cohen for all military units sent to the Persian Gulf.

Navy Capt. Doubleday, a Pentagon spokesman, played down the

extent of the problem, saying " less than one-tenth of 1 percent " of

troops have refused so far to receive the series of shots among some

218,000 personnel already vaccinated against anthrax.

He noted that Cohen, who has been vaccinated against anthrax as an

example to the troops, didn't authorize the inoculations until he was

assured they were safe. U.S. Army special forces have been receiving

anthrax vaccinations since the 1970s, including annual boosters,

Doubleday said.

" What we're talking about here are measures, medical measures which are

designed to protect individuals in the U.S. military who may at some

future time be put into a theater where anthrax is a threat, " Doubleday

said at a regular Pentagon briefing. " And this series of vaccinations

will enable service personnel to operate in that kind of an

environment. "

Doubleday confirmed that U.S. military personnel who refuse the anthrax

shots face dismissal, usually through an administrative process, for

refusing to follow an order. Whether they're honorably or dishonorably

discharged depends on their service record, he said.

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 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

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.