Lieutenant Colonel Paul Douglas Hague of the United States Army has had all of his vaccinations up to, and including, 8 inoculations against anthrax—but he refuses to get the COVID vaccine. His reason? "Freedom."
Lt. Col. Hague told Fox News' Sean Hannity he would rather retire after 18 years of Army service than get just one more vaccine mandated by the Pentagon.
He told Hannity he tendered his resignation from the Army last week, though the resignation letter shared by his wife is dated August 23, 2021 and was digitally signed on August 30.
Despite literal billions of people having received at least one dose of the vaccine (nearly 3.5 billion as of this writing), largely without incident, Hague apparently values his freedom above protecting himself and his those around him from a deadly pandemic.
He told Hannity:
"I don't want the COVID vaccine and I don't plan on getting it. But I've had all of the other Army vaccines. I've had eight anthrax shots. I've had the smallpox vaccination. I've had them all."
"So it's really not about whether or not I'll get the shot. This is really about the freedom of the American people."
"The right to choose your own medical procedures."
"The right to decide what's gonna be injected into your body and what's not."
While Hannity may have thought Hague "principled," many on Twitter vehemently disagreed.
The virus has now killed over 4.7 million people worldwide—over 684,000 of them in the United States—and is continuing to spread.
Vaccination, along with other prevention measures like masking and hand washing, are the best way to protect yourself and your community.
Information on where and how to get vaccinated in your area in the United States can be found here: https://www.vaccines.gov/
