Just the News reports that a former National Guardsman who had refused the COVID-19 vaccine and was in the process of seeking a religious exemption was “accidentally” given the mRNA shot when he went in to receive a flu shot, according to a representative from the Maine National Guard.
Former Maine National Guard Specialist Matthew Bouchard, who served in the military for six years, said he first filled out a COVID vaccine refusal form in April 2021. In November of the same year, he was ordered to get the flu shot, despite the fact that he had less than two months remaining in the military.
When he went to get the flu vaccine, Bouchard filled out the refusal form for the COVID vaccine and then completed a form for the flu shot.
Bouchard said there were two lines for vaccinations, one for COVID and the other for the flu. Each line had a separate noncommissioned officer (NCO) administering the vaccines. While Bouchard was in the line for flu shots, he says that the NCO in the COVID line told the group to come to his line to get the flu shot. When Bouchard asked for clarification, he said the NCO changed his mind and Bouchard returned to his original line.
Just one day later, Bouchard was called into a meeting with a sergeant major, chaplain and others in the chain of command who told him that he was given the COVID vaccine instead of the flu shot. Bouchard asked if this was planned but was told it wasn’t, that this was the first time it had happened, and that the NCO who gave him the wrong shot felt terrible about the mistake.
Davis Younts, an attorney for Bouchard, said he was a “victim” of what the Guard described as a “mistake” and was “[n]ever interviewed and never informed of the investigation or the outcome of the investigation.”
Bouchard might make a complaint to the inspector general after being told it was a federal case, Younts said.
According to the report, he and another National Guardsman said other service members expecting flu shots got the COVID-19 vaccine.
For this “to happen different times to more than one person is troubling,” Younts said, adding that it was “a big deal for someone to receive the wrong medical treatment.”
The attorney added that the climate around vaccinations could be a contributing factor to the mistake.
Commanders face “tremendous pressure” to get troops vaccinated “no matter what,” Younts said. “The commanders must account for how many of their members are vaccinated and will be judged harshly for those who aren’t.”
In that climate, he argued commanders could make mistakes or try “to cut corners or do things that are suspicious.”
The Maine National Guard has one of the highest percentages of vaccinated service members with a June report showing that 95 percent of its troops are vaccinated against COVID-19, according to WCSH-TV.
“Of the 54 state and territorial National Guard elements, Maine has consistently been in the top 5 for vaccination percentage for quite some time,” Maine National Guard Public Affairs Officer Maj. Carl Lamb said.
“I think it’s partly the emphasis of our supervisors, and commanders, and leaders on educating the members on the vaccination, what it meant, and why it is important,” Maine National Guard Adjutant General Doug Farnham said, according to WCSH.
“Also, just the culture here in the state of Maine. Maine as a whole did a great job getting vaccinations done compared to some other parts of the country,” Farnham said.
A Guard representative told Just the News the incident was a “mistake.”
“The Maine National Guard has not, and would never purposefully administer a COVID vaccine in place of an influenza vaccine,” the representative said in a statement. “A very small number of service members were accidentally given a COVID vaccine several months ago during a clinic for service members where both shots were being administered. Those involved were informed as soon as the error was made known, the incident was investigated, and protocols were adjusted appropriately to ensure the same mistake was not made again.”
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