The Pentagon will require the nation’s troops to get a Covid-19 vaccine by Sept. 15.
That date could be moved up if the shot is sooner given final approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or infection rates continue to rise.
‘I will seek the president’s approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September, or immediately upon’ final approval by the FDA, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote in a memo to troops.
‘I will not hesitate to act sooner or recommend a different course to the President if l feel the need to do so.’
He said the next few weeks would be spent preparing for the transition.
The FDA is expected to give final approval to the Pfizer vaccine early next month. Austin would need a waiver from President Biden to require vaccines without that formal approval.
Seventy-three percent of active duty service members have received at least one shot, and 62 percent are fully vaccinated, according to the Pentagon.
According to CDC data, 71 percent of American adults have gotten at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine and 61 percent are fully vaccinated.
Asked what the consequences would be for service members who refuse a vaccine beyond Sept. 15, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters Monday: ‘I’m not going to speculate, get into hypotheticals.’ #
‘It isn’t a widespread issue,’ Kirby said of service members refusing a vaccine. ‘To the degree it happens, my assumption is that it is dealt with at the command level, again not going to speculate.’
According to CDC data, 71 percent of American adults have gotten at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine and 61 percent are fully vaccinated
Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin, above, said he would mandate Covid-19 jabs for service members sooner than Sept. 15 if a vaccine was fully approved by the FDA before then
Currently, all federal workers are required to get a Covid-19 vaccine or submit themselves to regular testing
When the military began requiring the anthrax vaccine in 1998, there were hundreds who left the service to avoid getting the jab, and hundreds more left the service to avoid the vaccine. At least three dozen were court-martialed as a result of non-compliance.
Kirby said the warning of a vaccine mandate should serve as a ‘warning order’ for unvaccinated service members.
The memo, first reported by the Associated Press, follows Biden’s announcement last week that his administration would require federal employees and onsite contractors to attest that they are vaccinated or if they are unvaccinated to submit to regular testing. That requirement extended to civilians working for the Defense Department, but not active duty members.
‘In the meantime, we will comply with the President’s direction regarding additional restrictions and requirements for unvaccinated Federal personnel. Those requirements apply to those of you in uniform as well as our civilian and contractor personnel,’ Austin said.
Currently all federal employees in Washington, DC are required to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status.
Biden issued a statement of support following the announcement.
‘I strongly support Secretary Austin’s message to the Force today on the Department of Defense’s plan to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for our service members not later than mid-September,’ Biden said.
‘Secretary Austin and I share an unshakable commitment to making sure our troops have every tool they need to do their jobs as safely as possible.’
US service members can be required to take as many as 17 vaccines, depending on where in the world they are stationed.
‘Mandating vaccines in the military is not new,’ Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said in a statement of support of the move. ‘Since the first days of basic training and throughout our service, we’ve received multiple vaccines.’
‘Getting vaccinated against Covid-19 is a key force protection and readiness issue,’ Milley wrote out in black ink at the end of the statement.
Source link : https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9877495/Pentagon-require-members-U-S-military-COVID-vaccine-September-15.html
