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WASHINGTON – The Pentagon will seek to make coronavirus vaccination mandatory for the nation’s 1.3 million active-duty soldiers “no later than” next month, the Biden administration said on Monday.
Officials initially said injections may be needed by the end of August to help stop the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. But they decided to wait another month, bowing to concerns expressed by White House officials over a warrant in place for the troops before the Food and Drug Administration grants approval. complete vaccine.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said in a note to staff Monday that he would seek to expedite a vaccination mandate if the FDA approves the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by mid-September, which the agency said. ‘intention to do. In the meantime, he told services to start preparing the force for the mandatory vaccines.
But mid-September is more than five weeks away, and even then the administration has not set a deadline for the vaccination of troops.
The decision to delay is the latest change in the Biden administration’s response to the burgeoning Delta variant. As President Biden has expressed frustration with the country’s vaccination rate and urged the private sector and state and local governments to step up pressure on the unvaccinated, he has repeatedly said to take the only action that ‘he was able as commander-in-chief to mandate vaccines that were not fully approved by the FDA for the troops.
Of the Army’s 1,336,000 active-duty members, about 64 percent are fully vaccinated, a rate that is unacceptably low for the Pentagon, as it is difficult to deploy unvaccinated troops to countries with strict local restrictions, and because a wave of viruses among the troops can cripple the preparation. The Navy and Army have done a little better, while the Air Force and Marines have had a particular struggle and remain well below 60 percent of fully vaccinated members.
“I want you to know that I will seek the president’s approval to make vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September, or immediately after the Food and Drug Agency (FDA) licensure, whichever comes first. contingency, “Austin said in his letter to the Department of Defense. He said the department would closely monitor the rate of new cases of the virus, adding that “I will not hesitate to act sooner or recommend a different course to the president if I feel the need to. “
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