XFool wrote:Lanark wrote:The US marines do have some unfortunate medical history that's come to light in the last 5 years which may explain this.
So I wouldn't assume this hesitancy will apply more broadly, there are serious long term side effects of Covid to consider.
For decades, thousands of U.S. soldiers took the military up on an offer that was hard to refuse: a few days off from the drudgery of base life in exchange for letting scientists run them through a few safety tests. Those who accepted, however, were in for an appalling surprise.
From just after World War I into the 1970s, soldiers and sailors were exposed to mustard gas, experimental nerve-agent antidotes and other toxic substances, all without their knowledge. Now the survivors want to know exactly what the military did to them. They want medical care. Yet the Pentagon seems intent on treating them like malingerers trying to get out of KP duty.
At least 70,000 troops are covered by a class-action suit claiming that these experiments caused cancers, emphysema and other serious illnesses.
Yes. But that was that and that was then.
Now we have a virus causing a global pandemic. Everyone is involved, in every country and continent in the world (apart from Antarctica, AFAIK). Plus we have vaccines which are to be administered (hopefully) to everyone, in every country and continent in the world (even in Antarctica?). Not just to the US Marines.
So... What is the (logical?) connection between the two situations? I am bemused.
Interestingly (IMO) this same issue seems to come up wrt minority ethnic groups in the UK. But as I saw a black minister saying on the TV news last night about his congregation: "But they've all grown up with vaccinations! All their life... BCG, the rest...". Then again, I also heard that LBC programme with David Lammy, on the same topic...
The logical connection is that the authorities have shown that they are not to be trusted. This is why "don't do stupid stuff" needs to be a foundational principle of government. The problem with "that was then, there is no evidence of us doing stupid stuff for decades" is that we only know about the old stupid stuff because records were released while files about newer stupid stuff are still classified.
But you don't have to worry much about the marines. When a vaccine is authorized rather than emergency use authorized they will be ordered to take it and they will salute and hold out their arms.