The War Department is now reevaluating discharge characterizations for those who refused to take the COVID vaccine. They state that it’s time these wrongs are righted. I applaud this. Many individuals were discharged or terminated for refusing the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, amid early public assumptions that vaccination would meaningfully stop transmission—assumptions that did not hold up as the evidence evolved. (Notably, Pfizer acknowledged that stopping transmission was not evaluated in its initial pre-authorization clinical trials.) I feel close to this issue. In a prior role, I was asked to investigate individuals who refused the vaccine, were subsequently terminated by their employer, and had filed legal claims as a result. The objective of that work was not to assess the underlying facts, but to identify information that could be used to discredit those individuals and weaken their cases. I found that assignment morally unethical and inconsistent with the scientific observations available even at the time—observations later publicly acknowledged by Pfizer. After reviewing draft reports that lacked analytical integrity and reflected clear bias throughout, I refused to participate. I also personally fought for my right not to take vaccine. At the time, I was undergoing intensive treatment for late-stage neurological Lyme disease and had been advised by my medical doctor not to receive the vaccine. Despite the fact that I worked fully remotely, my employer repeatedly pressured me. I was sent a multi-page document demanding intimate details of my condition and a complete history of every vaccination I’ve ever had - which should have had nothing to do with anything. The process was invasive and adversarial. It felt like a clear witch hunt. I stood my ground, but it was a harrowing, isolating, and deeply stressful period—one in which I had no support and had to live in fear of speaking up. If anything like this ever happens again: think critically. Science is not a noun. Science is not a person. Science is not a for-profit industry. Science is a verb—a process of questioning, testing, and updating conclusions. It’s time we update our conclusions. https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4361100/war-department-reevaluates-discharge-characterizations-for-covid-vaccine-refusal/?fbclid=IwVERDUAOwMdJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEediglpvZzMimlx1LVFTjqLmIxABxx_DIuo2kfJOeR5zMWz0Y40pjSIp2KT5E_aem_vqG1SKdfnCwetQ0W1Axm5g