WorldNetDaily correspondent J.M. Phelps — a pretty aggressive anti-vaxxer — ran to the defense of a fellow anti-vaxxer in an April 18 article:
Though the COVID-19 pandemic brought widespread resistance to the Biden-era military’s vaccine mandate, COVID isn’t the only mandated shot being resisted by some service members for religious reasons.
Army Sergeant Dan McGriff (a pseudonym) spoke to WorldNetDaily on the condition of anonymity, anticipating reprisals. He emphasized that his views do not reflect those of the Department of Defense or the Department of the Army.
In the summer of 2021 during the thick of the pandemic, the non-commissioned officer “saw the writing on the wall,” suspecting a COVID-19 shot mandate was on the way for military service members. So, in August 2021, he was not surprised to see the rollout of former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s now-rescinded mandate.
After conferring with his wife, he made the decision to seek exemption, not only from the COVID-19 shot, but for all future vaccines as well.“Some people were getting responses back within 30 to 90 days at most, but mine took about six months, going all the way up to the Army surgeon general to be denied or accepted,” McGriff told WND. “And in March 2022, I received my initial denial.”
While the decision could be appealed, the Army sergeant said there was no guidance available. “I sent my appeal within seven days, and from that moment on I was a ghost.” He explained that even though he had approved orders for a new duty station, he was not allowed to move because he was “unvaccinated.”
Phelps did not state what, exactly, is driving “McGriff’s” religious exemption, or why he has decided iet applies to all vaccines. There was also no explanation of why “McGriff’s” religious exemption should be treated as sincere instead of the anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorizing it clearly appears to be. Instead, Phelps lets the guy whine about how he’s being oppressed in the military:
Today, Sgt. McGriff finds himself seeking a religious accommodation for the flu vaccine for a third time. There is an Army regulation in place stating he does not have to take the vaccine while waiting for approval. And though he considers it a blessing to have avoided the shot in recent years, he said, “there have been loose threats of denying leave requests for not having it.”
Are the circumstances surrounding his objection to the flu vaccine a coincidence, or have they been deliberate? Either way, he feels that “when it comes to Christians, our religious freedoms are being trampled on while wearing the uniform.”
In McGriff’s opinion, “All vaccines should be optional and not mandated.” However, as it stands today, if a service member is not up to date on immunizations, that service member is not considered deployable.
“Do our religious rights count for anything?” he asked WND.
Well, one does lose certain rights as a soldier, and they are required to take many other vaccines as part of their service. Phelps closed with a bit of fearmongering:
Apart from his religious objection to vaccines, he also pointed out that “with mRNA vaccines being the future, things are going to get very scary very fast.” Afterall, mRNA COVID-19 shots have been widely associated with a well-documented risk of serious side effects, including but not limited to cardiac issues and cancer.
In fact, there’s no evidence COVID vaccines cause cancer.