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By Sarah Harris • Mar 15, 2018
Produced: Mar 13, 2018
Sarah Harris reports on an effort to get Vietnam vets checked and treated for Hepatitis C.
Listen Here: https://beta.prx.org/stories/233872
Article: http://americanhomefront.wunc.org/post/hepatitis-c-more-common-vietnam-vets-nobody-sure-why
The reasons that Vietnam vets are more likely to have hepatitis C are disputed. Kaifetz blames a device called the "jet gun injector" that the military used to vaccinate service members during the Vietnam era. It generated a burst of air pressure to force the vaccine under the skin.
The reasons that Vietnam vets are more likely to have hepatitis C are disputed. Kaifetz blames a device called the "jet gun injector" that the military used to vaccinate service members during the Vietnam era. It generated a burst of air pressure to force the vaccine under the skin.
"It was supposed to shoot the injection through your skin cells without piercing the skin with a needle," Kaifetz explained.
Even though the gun wasn't supposed to break the skin, a lot of veterans say it made them bleed. The gun usually wasn't sterilized between each use.
Source:
This story was produced by the American Homefront Project, a public media collaboration that reports on American military life and veterans. Funding comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
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