In the midst of the debate on the mandatory nature of the Covid vaccine in our country, next Monday, August 16, the cadets of the General Military Academy of Zaragoza of the academic year 2021-22 they must join it between 07:30 and 10:00 in the morning. They are a total of 463 students from different disciplines They must comply with the usual procedures of the academy: transfer to the sports court, luggage storage, identification, etc.
As one of the novelties that has already been installed in the Academy, like the rest of the country, the cadets will be subjected to an antigen test to find out the health status of the students with respect to the Covid pandemic. However, in the documentation to which OKDIARIO has had access, something totally new appears: “Situation control regarding vaccination and previous condition of COVID-19 (identification of personnel to be vaccinated on August 16. ”The aforementioned documentation includes a form of “Rejection of Vaccination Schedule” which in one of its points warns of the risk of expulsion run by cadets that they do not agree to get the vaccine.
Form to be filled out by cadets who refuse to be vaccinated.
While the Government remains lukewarm on the decision whether or not to oblige certain professional sectors to be vaccinated, this newspaper has had access to the documentation that shows that these doubts, in the military training, have been resolved with a stroke of the pen. While in places of maximum protection against the pandemic, As are residences for the elderly, the obligation to get vaccinated for workforce has not been imposed, OKDIARIO has had access to the documentation that shows that Army cadets are required at the General Military Academy of Zaragoza at risk of expulsion, information advanced by the channel specialized in security information The Spanish Army.
It is striking that, in the same documentation that explains that the same day of admission the students will receive the vaccine, a form of “Rejection of Vaccination Schedule” is included, where not only are new cadets not left with options, but see their studies in serious jeopardy, but instead places them on a plane of obvious discrimination.
In the civil sector, going back to nursing homes, what is being debated now is that the refusal to be vaccinated by the professionals of these establishments may mean their transfer so as not to be close to the elderly who are, obviously, more vulnerable.
Police and Civil Guard
But it is that the sector most similar to the military, in the field of the National Police and the Civil Guard, applicants are not required from their respective academies to be vaccinated. “You can’t force anyone to get vaccinated. It is recommended, we all have to do it to protect ourselves, but what can be done is diagnostic tests to control the health status of the students, but we do not require them to be vaccinated yes or yes, “police sources explain. From the Civil Guard they make it just as clear: “The obligation to be vaccinated for the completion of any course, or access to the Corps or improvement, is not being requested, as vaccination is not mandatory in Spain.”
So, if it is not mandatory to get the vaccine, although it is absolutely recommended, how does the Military Academy of Zaragoza justify this covert obligation? Well, citing the Organic Law of 2011 that explains the obligation to maintain the security of the military “Because of the specific risks to which it is exposed”. The contagion of the coronavirus is not a specific risk of the military and this text was not written with a pandemic in mind but rather in military or training actions that put soldiers in danger. But there is more, because, in another paragraph of the document, the Academy cites an ordinance that requires the care and health care of members of the Army.
But the worst for the cadets comes after the legal arguments. What happens if a cadet decides not to get vaccinated? The cadet who is not vaccinated “may not participate in classes, practices, physical education activities and instruction and training, which due to their conditions of performance pose close contact and increased health risk”. Although it seems a reasonable measure, this is not the only consequence that non-immunized cadets face. The precautionary measure can have very serious consequences.
“Failure to attend certain classes, activities and practices will prevent their evaluation and therefore the repetition of the course and even the withdrawal as a student. (…) The repeated refusal to be vaccinated could be considered as a lack of the qualities in relation to the rules of behavior of the military (…) Which could lead to the opening of an extraordinary personal file of withdrawal from the Military Teaching Center ”.
In short, on Monday, August 16, if any of the nearly 500 new cadets refuse to be vaccinated, they will seriously jeopardize their future in the Army.
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