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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHundreds of thousands of U.S. troops have not yet complied with vaccine mandate as deadlines near
Hundreds of thousands of U.S. service members remain unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated against the coronavirus as the Pentagons first compliance deadlines near, with lopsided rates across the individual services and a spike in deaths among military reservists illustrating how political division over the shots has seeped into a nonpartisan force with unambiguous orders.
Overall, the militarys vaccination rate has climbed since August, when Defense Department leaders, acting on a directive from President Biden, informed the nations 2.1 million troops that immunization would become mandatory, exemptions would be rare and those who refuse would be punished. Yet troops response has been scattershot, according to data assessed by The Washington Post.
For instance, 90 percent of the active-duty Navy is fully vaccinated, whereas just 72 percent of the Marine Corps is, the data show, even though both services share a Nov. 28 deadline. In the Air Force, more than 60,000 personnel have just three weeks to meet the Defense Departments most ambitious deadline.
Deaths attributed to covid-19 have soared in parts of the force as some services struggle to inoculate their troops. In September, more military personnel died of coronavirus infections than in all of 2020. None of those who died were fully vaccinated, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Charlie Dietz said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/10/10/military-vaccine-mandate/
spanone
(135,823 posts)jaysunb
(11,856 posts)Just throw their asses out They've been getting shots since they stepped off the bus.
This is an act of defiance pure and simple.
keithbvadu2
(36,775 posts)https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/gop-rep-thomas-massie-schooled-after-claiming-military-will-quit-if-the-covid-vaccine-is-mandated/ar-AALNaaS
GOP Rep Thomas Massie Schooled After Claiming Military 'Will Quit If the COVID Vaccine Is Mandated'
keithbvadu2
(36,775 posts)Trump's shaman was kicked out of the Navy for refusing an anthrax vaccine.
He did not 'quit'.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/01/12/navy-career-of-qanon-shaman-ended-after-he-refused-anthrax-vaccine.html
ProfessorGAC
(64,995 posts)Separate them and cut benefits.
We spend too much on defense. This is a side door to budget cuts.
Or, if the budget stays the same, spread that money around to those that are still in. Especially to enlisted ranks.
Makes the military a better paying job & weeds out the densest.
JusticeForAll
(1,222 posts)How can we trust them to do the really important things?