Military officials said they had not collected data on the number of soldiers who had refused other federally mandated vaccines such as anthrax, hepatitis, chickenpox and flu vaccines in the last decade or more. They were unable to give details of what penalties members of the service have received for their refusal. Officials said they thought the number was small.
Military officials, however, say the pace of vaccinations is increasing, and that some forces, such as sailors deployed on warships, see 100 percent of their members calling the shots. Military officials say the pace at which vaccines are growing is forcing some units – such as sailors deployed on a warship – to see 100% of their members shot.
The Air Force says that more than 65 percent of its active service and 60 percent of reserve are at least partially vaccinated, while the number in the Army, the largest service, seems closer to 50 percent. The Air Force said more than 65 percent of its soldiers are active and 60 percent of its reserve – troops have been at least partially vaccinated, though the number of soldiers in the Army, the second largest service, seems to be around 50. The Navy said more than 74 percent of active duty and reserve sailors were vaccinated with at least one shot.
The 15 September deadline has been postponed because the COVID-19 vaccine has not yet been definitively approved by the FDA and infection rates continue to rise. I said that the mid-September deadline should be accelerated until the vaccine has received final Food and Drug Administration approval or the infection rate continues to rise significantly.
The Pentagon requires all US military members to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by 15 September, according to a memo from the Associated Press news agency. The Pentagon’s decision comes a little over a week after President Joe Biden instructed defense officials to develop a plan that would require troops to be deployed across the federal population as part of a broader campaign to increase vaccinations, the AP reports. The Pentagon said in the memo that all military services should prepare in the coming weeks to determine how many vaccines they need and how the mandate will be implemented.
WASHINGTON (AP) – All military members must begin receiving a COVID-19 vaccine next month, a plan unveiled by the Pentagon and approved by President Joe Biden. WASHINGTON (AP) – Every member of the U.S. military will receive a Covid-19 vaccine early next month, according to a Pentagon memo released Monday and endorsed by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. The Pentagon will require all military members to receive the vaccination by September 15, said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in the memo, which was obtained on Monday by The Associated Press.
Members of the US military must receive the COVID-19 vaccine by 15 September. The announcement came in a memo by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Monday in which he told troops that he would seek the president’s approval to make the vaccine mandatory by mid-September at the latest, once it has received full FDA approval. To get that approval, Austin would need a waiver from President Biden to commission the vaccine.
The decision comes a little more than a week after Biden instructed officials from the Defense Department to develop a plan for troops to get a shot in a broader campaign to increase vaccination rates across the federal population. The president hinted last month that military personnel would be the next to receive the vaccine mandate.
Rather than seeking the President’s approval to make the vaccine mandatory by mid-September at the latest, approval would come first, Austins said in a memo to the agency sent Monday, warning them to prepare for that possibility. Austin’s memo said that in the meantime, the Pentagon would comply with Biden’s order with additional restrictions on federal personnel who are not already vaccinated. These restrictions include the wearing of masks, social distance and travel restrictions.
The extra time would give the FDA time to give Pfizer final approval for the vaccine, which is expected next month. Final approval is needed to get a waiver for Biden to make the vaccine mandatory, and Biden has made it clear that he supports the Pentagon plan. The plan would also give the Food and Drug Administration time to issue final approval.
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday that he believes the military already has enough vaccines to meet the requirements. The extra time is an allusion to the bitter political divide over the vaccine and the knowledge that mandatory vaccination could provoke resistance from opponents in the US Senate and state governments, the United States Congress, and the American people.
The Defense Department plans to order vaccination for all the service members in the coming weeks, said Army Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and added that military doctors had recommended it. Austin warned that if the contamination rates rise and affect military readiness, AI will not hesitate to act and recommend a different course to the president if it feels the need to do so. His decision mirrors similar decisions by governments and businesses around the world as nations grapple with the highly infectious delta strain which has caused new cases, hospitalizations and deaths to levels not seen since a peak last winter.
