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Sept. 15 (Reuters) – U.S. Army officers who refuse to be vaccinated against the coronavirus could be suspended from duty and possibly removed from duty, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.
After the Food and Drug Administration fully approved the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in August, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered (https://media.defense.gov/2021/Aug/25/2002838826/-1/- 1/0 / MEMORANDUM -FOR-MANDATORY-CORONAVIRUS-DISEASE-2019-VACCINATION-OF-DEPARTMENT-OF-DEFENSE-SERVICE-MEMBERS.PDF) that all active duty members should be vaccinated.
The military said it began implementing the order in late August, adding that soldiers could apply for an exemption on legitimate medical, religious or administrative grounds.
However, commanders, command sergeant majors, first sergeants and officers occupying positions on the command selection list who refuse to be vaccinated and do not wait for an exemption request would be suspended and alleviated. they refused to comply, the military said in a statement.
“While soldiers who refuse the vaccine will first be counseled by their chain of command and medical providers, continued non-compliance could result in administrative or non-judicial sanctions – including duty relief or dismissal. “, did he declare.
“It is literally a matter of life and death for our soldiers, their families and the communities in which we live,” said U.S. Army Surgeon General Raymond Scott Dingle, citing concern over the spread. of the highly contagious Delta variant.
As of last week, the US Department of Defense had reported https://www.defense.gov/Explore/Spotlight/Coronavirus-DOD-Response over 353,000 cases of COVID-19 among its staff and over 450 deaths.
The military now expects its active duty units to be fully vaccinated by December 15 and its Reserve and National Guard units by June 30 of next year.
(Reporting by Sarah Morland in Gdansk; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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