WORLD WAR CV: Services’ Deadlines for Mandatory Vaccination Loom; Air Force Falls Short

Deadlines Near.

Three days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine Defenses Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a directive on August 26 that mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for service members are necessary to protect the health and readiness of the force.

Because the three available anti-COVID vaccines were only approved for human application by the FDA under an emergency use authorization (EUA), no one — including members of the military — could be compelled to get vaccinated. More than 73 percent of active duty personnel had received at least one shot of the vaccines by mid-August. However, thousands more service men and women declined to roll up their sleeves for inoculation, according to SEAPOWER.

Hawaii National Guard medic Sergeant Cassandra N. Park, administers the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to Colonel Jon A. Ishikawa, commander of the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, October 1, 2021, at Kalaeloa, Hawaii. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by 1st Lieutenant Anyah Peatross)

In announcing FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 16 years of age and older in August, Dr. Janet Woodcock, the FDA’s acting administrator, said “the public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards of safety and effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product.”

The Army, Navy and Air Force finalized their deadlines for all service members in the active duty forces, Reserves and National Guard to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in mid-September.

The deadline for the Air Force was November 2 for active duty airmen and December 2 for reserves and the Air National Guard. The Navy deadline is November 28 for active duty sailors and Marines, with reservists having until December 28. The Army deadline for all active duty service members is December 15. Army reservists and the National Guard  have until June 30, 2022 to be fully vaccinated. The services are each handling their own logistics for vaccinations, according to the official website of the Military Health System.

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Air Force Lags.

The Air Force missed having its entire force vaccinated by November 2. In all, 10,352 Airmen and Space Force Guardians — including 1,866 who have received medical or administrative exemptions — remain unvaccinated out of a total Active-duty force of approximately 326,000, Air Force Magazine reported November 3.

Senior Airman Sara Sanchez from the 6th Health Care Operations Squadron prepares a COVID-19 vaccine for distribution at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, Sept. 30, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Lauren Cobin)

Eight hundred uniformed personnel have refused the shot and nearly 5,000 Airmen and Guardians waiting to find out if their religious exemptions will be approved. Nearly 7 percent of the Active-duty force has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 95.9 percent of them are fully vaccinated.

That still puts the Air Force behind the Navy, which was 99 percent vaccinated as of November. 1. As of that date, 93 percent of Active-duty Marines and 90 percent of Active-duty Soldiers were vaccinated.

Among those who remain unvaccinated, 1,634 have received medical exemptions; 232 have received administrative exemptions, such as separation or retirement; and 4,933 are pending a decision related to a request for religious exemption.

Another 2,753 unvaccinated individuals are categorized as “not started.” The Air Force said some of those individuals are deployed to overseas locations where vaccines are not readily available, the magazine noted.

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USAF Boots Recruits Who Refuse the Shot.

Forty would-be airmen or Guardians have been separated from Air Force and Space Force recruit training after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, Military.com reported October 29.

Air Force officials confirmed that 40 basic military and technical trainees have been discharged under entry-level separation characterizations for refusing the vaccine.

Entry-level discharges can be awarded to personnel who have yet to serve 180 days; it usually carries no designation such as a good, bad or other-than-honorable discharge, simply equating to a separation from service with a potential for reenlistment if the individual chooses to get the vaccine, the website noted.