Statement by Randi Airola
Executive Director
Military Vaccine Education Center
April 1, 2005
Anthrax Band Reunion Press Conference
New York City
My name is Randi Airola. I'm the Executive Director of the Military Vaccine Education Center. Our organization helps soldiers and their families who have been hurt by the anthrax and other military vaccines.
The truth is: The Department of Defense knew the anthrax vaccine was experimental before they started forcing the troops to take it in 1998.
In October of 2004, after 6 years of the Department of Defense forcing service members to take the anthrax vaccine, a Federal Judge ruled that the order was indeed illegal.
According to the Government's conservative estimates, more than 4,000 healthy soldiers have been harmed by the anthrax vaccine with different symptoms ranging from convulsions, blood clots, heart problems, extreme fatigue and muscle weakness, severe migraines, paralysis, spontaneous miscarriages, tumors, tremors, loss of hair, loss of eyesight, loss of memory - and even death. Acknowledgement of these serious side affects is included in the vaccine's FDA approved product label.
I have spoken with more than 1,000 soldiers or their family members about their illnesses mentioned above. Some of these victims are in their 20's and need the assistance of a cane to walk. Some of these victims are even forced to pay their own medical bills and medical treatment. Soldiers who have refused vaccination have been fined, court-martialed, and even imprisoned with felony convictions.
Our men and women in uniform who volunteer to lay down their lives for the rest of us should not have to fear losing their health and their careers at the hands of our own Government.
The Department of Defense must cease its illegal misconduct of experimenting on our troops with inadequately tested, experimental vaccines, like the anthrax vaccine.
Who will volunteer to serve this great nation knowing that they must risk their health or lose their careers if they protest illegal orders? Enlistment bonuses treated as a dangling carrot to get potential recruits to enlist will come and go - but your health is yours forever.
The only way to move forward to begin to restore trust and confidence in the military is to give soldiers their legal right to full and informed consent over the experimental vaccines they are ordered to take.
www.MilVacs.org
