Interesting bit

[Rapunzel]

Oh boy, she'd better be careful, Matt. A few years ago a military doc (AF?) got court marshalled for refusing to take the anthrax vaccine on medical grounds! Court marshalled!

[PrincessFiona]

What?!

[Rapunzel]

I'll find a link to the news story. It definitely freaked my husband and I out when we read it a few years ago.

[Rapunzel]

http://www.pstripes.com/jan01/ed011001d.html

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?sect ... chive=true

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article ... 88,00.html

http://www.avip2001.net/DOCS/SS010326Argument.htm

http://www.federalobserver.com/archive.php?aid=1326

[SueC]

Gosh, I hope I didn't come off as sounding like going to the Philippines wasn't a big deal. There are rebel groups over there and places that definitely are not safe, but I believe the big cities (Manila and Cebu are the ones that our family are in) are much safer. I think it's terrible that she is being deployed at all and was hoping to offer a little bit of comfort about the location.

A few years ago a military doc (AF?) got court marshalled for refusing to take the anthrax vaccine...

....whatever it would take to make this committment go by quicker....Ok, not really.

All the Peds docs here have declined the smallpox, and others, and no one has been brought up on any charges. She won't have it done, they would have to have her tied and dragged there to get it done.

Sue, it isn't a "war" front, but it is still consdered a hostile area, for whatever reason. My grandparents lived there for about 15 years back in the 80's-90's. They were once joined by a rebel group that just came out of the jungle with their jeeps and machine-guns on the beach at some hotel....then they left after some time, no harm, no foul.

[Gwendolyn]

Sorry for the ignorance...why would you not want to do the vaccines?

The smallpox vaccine is not a "nice" vaccine, you get scratched with a needle on both shoulders, then the one that gets the actually vaccine gets a blister after a period of time, then a bigger blister, after about a month, it starts to heal. Leaves you a big scar on your shoulder about the size of a nickel or quarter...or so. The other one, I don't know so much about, she just doesn't want it because she doesn't know what COULD happen to her/our kids if she got it (comes in a series over year and a half or something).

She won't be getting thrown out of the AF for refusal of vaccines. They suggest you get them, but it is her choice.

dh has a scar from the smallpox vaccine -- got it as a child in India I think. it's worn off now (I think has a "shelf life of 25 yrs) ... figures.

I think another concern re: the smallpox (don't know about anthrax) is that it can be contagious to others around you once you've been vaccinated. From what I've heard it's a small risk - but more than if you hadn't been vaccinated.

[PrincessFiona]

I think there have been questions about how effective the anthrax vaccine is and the dangers it poses...Honestly, Matt...I wouldn't get it either!

From 2003

Among 600,000 people who got anthrax shots in the past year, possible side effects are reported by the military in only a fraction of one percent: .142 percent or 852 reports per 600,000 people. The GAO investigation released last fall found a much higher rate in a survey of vaccines: 85 percent, with side effects ranging from lumps and rashes to hospitalizations....

Late last year, government investigators advised the Defense Department to actively track each soldier who gets the anthrax vaccine to get a truer picture of the harm it may do, but the military rejected that advice. Now, some troops find themselves more worried about the shots than the biological threat they're supposed to ward off.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/ ... 9426.shtml

Also, I read http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature ... index.html that there was a ruling at one point that the Pentagon couldn't force the vaccination of Anthrax....the only way the issue could be forced was if Bush sign off on a waive of informed consent....I don't know whether he did or not. That was in 2003.

[Vanquisher]

The small-pox vaccine scares the crap out of me. One of my aunts (an identical twin) died as a direct result of the vaccine when she was an toddler. Her twin sis did not. That was decades ago, but the rest of the family never had to have them, and no, I would not blame anyone who did not want that vaccine. It can actually kill people.

Well, there is still no word on when she is leaving, but she does still have to be there by May 13th. You know, the medical life is unpredictable in its own right....add in the military bureaucracy and there is no telling what is going to happen.

Oh yeah, there is no problem refusing any shots...just some Tech that thought she was crazy and didn't know what G was talking about....not like she doesn't know, she is a Dr.

She has written up several departments during this whole thing. She is a one-woman wrecking crew, single-handedly cleaning up the customer service in the military! Her Commander has been trying to keep her from letting people know that they suck at their jobs....

That must be agonizing. Sometimes it is easier to know the details even if it is something you aren't looking forward to.

Where is "there" by May 13? At the base or does she have to go somewhere else?

"there" is -supposed- to be Manilla, Philipines.


I guess we will see....there is still talk about the USNS Mercy too. Who knows?! She is hoping that she will be on the ship, just because it can be counted on, rooms-wise, activities, laundry services and such. There are no active AF bases there, but she is only ONE of TWO pediatricians from the Air Force going. It will be interesting to hear about the other branches from her....did I mention that she isn't thrilled about having no details of what she will be doing?!


We are chanting "it will look good on the CV"....

[mommax3]

She is a one-woman wrecking crew, single-handedly cleaning up the customer service in the military!

That should take her the rest of her owed time! More power to her!

Thanks for the update.....I have been thinking about you guys. Have you said anything to the boys yet?

It is a sad state of affairs when the only thing you can count on is not being able to count on anything!

Hang in there, BOTH of you.

Sally