- COVID-19 vaccinations will soon be mandated for all military personnel.
- People in the military already have a slightly higher vaccination rate than the public.
- Experts say it’s unlikely military personnel who want to challenge the mandate can win in court, since vaccinations have been part of the military since the Revolutionary War.
Julie Bryant proudly served in the U.S. Navy from 1981 to 1985, then she returned for another 8 months from 1986 to 1987 when asked to be part of a defense fraud task force.
Bryant, who was a cryptologic technician communications officer, told Healthline she was given 12 vaccines when she arrived at boot camp.
It was all part of serving her country. She took it in stride.
In today’s U.S. military, the number of vaccines given to active duty troops can reach 17, sometimes even higher.
The COVID-19 vaccines have not been on the Department of Defense’s mandatory list. But that’s about to change.
Military leaders recently announced that all 1.3 million active duty service members will be required to be fully vaccinated as soon as mid-September to fight the highly contagious Delta variant.
In a letter to U.S. military officials, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he would seek a presidential waiver of a requirement that vaccines mandated by the Pentagon have the full approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), unless the agency grants that approval first.
The approval of at least one of the U.S. vaccines — the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine — is expected next month.
Source: healthline