The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. military members would be rescinded under the annual defense bill heading for a vote this week in Congress.
“I would remind all of you that the Pentagon has a range of vaccines it has long required,” Jean-Pierre said Monday. “So this is nothing new.”
Military leaders acknowledge that the vaccine requirement is one of several factors contributing to their recruiting struggles. It may dissuade some young people from enlisting, but officials don’t know how many. This year the Army missed its recruiting goal by about 25%, while the other services scraped by.The reasons, however, are complex. Two years of the pandemic shut off recruiters’ access to schools and events where they find prospects, and online recruiting was only marginally successful.
“We lost a million people to this virus,” Austin said. “A million people died in the United States of America. We lost hundreds in DoD. So this mandate has kept people healthy.” The Marine Corps, which is much smaller than the Army, Navy and Air Force, vastly outpaces them in the number of troops discharged, with 3,717 as of early this month. The Army – the largest service -- has discharged more than 1,800, while more than 1,600 were forced out by the Navy and 834 by the Air Force. The Air Force numbers include the Space Force.
The politicization of the COVID-19 vaccine, however, triggered an onslaught of exemption requests from troops. As many as 16,000 religious exemptions have been or are still pending, and only about 190 have been approved. Small numbers of temporary and permanent medical exemptions have also been granted.
“Obviously,” he added, “the more people you have well at any given time, the better off you are in responding immediately, but there’s substantial sentiment on the other side of the aisle, which we need in the Senate, that believes differently, so we may have to compromise.”
Deutschland Neuesten Nachrichten, Deutschland Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
Congress set to rescind COVID-19 vaccine mandate for troopsThe COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military would be rescinded under the annual defense bill heading for a vote this week in Congress
Weiterlesen »
US defense chief argues to keep COVID-19 military vaccine mandateThis past week more than 20 Republican governors sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking that the administration remove the mandate, saying it has hurt the U.S. National Guard’s ability to recruit troops.
Weiterlesen »
Immunity Debt Is Real, and It’s Overwhelming Children’s HospitalsThis is the reason attempting to social distance forever would backfire.
Weiterlesen »
Pfizer/BioNTech seek FDA authorization of updated Covid-19 vaccine for children under 5 | CNNPfizer and BioNTech have submitted an application to the US Food and Drug Administration for their updated Covid-19 vaccine to be used as the third shot in the three-dose primary vaccine series for children ages 6 months through 4 years.
Weiterlesen »