Nearly 40% of Marines Refuse COVID-19 Vaccine

Nearly 40% of U.S. Marines refuse COVID-19 vaccinations, according to a new report.

Some 75,500 Marines have received vaccines, CNN reported on Friday. But 48,000 other Marines refused the shots. This means that of all the Marines who have offered hits so far, 38.9% say no.

An additional 102,000 Marines have yet to receive vaccines.

These statistics are even darker than the February reports suggesting that overall, about a third of military personnel refuse to be vaccinated.

At the time, Air Force General Jeff Taliaferro, vice director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a congressional committee that soldiers needed an education “for them. help understand the benefits ”of the vaccine.

There have been 273,503 cases of COVID-19 within the Department of Defense as of April 9, according to Military.com.

Part of the reason declination rates are so high among service members is that COVID-19 vaccinations are not yet mandatory and those who refuse the vaccine can still be rolled out.

“We have already demonstrated over the past year that we are fully capable of operating in a COVID environment,” Taliaferro said in February.

In a statement to CNN, Marine Corps spokeswoman Col. Kelly Frushour said they were focusing on “building vaccine confidence” among staff.

“We fully understand that the widespread acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine provides us with the best means to beat the pandemic.”