Travis airmen, others ordered to get COVID-19 vaccine "immediately"
(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
The head of the U.S. Department of Defense has ordered thousands of military service members to get vaccinated against the effects of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
In a memo issued this week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said service leaders at Travis Air Force Base and other U.S. military installations were required to immediately implement “ambitious timelines” for service members to receive the vaccine.
“After careful consultation with medical experts and military leadership, and with the support of the President, I have determined that mandatory vaccination against coronavirus disease...is necessary to protect the Force and defend the American people,” Austin wrote in the memo, which was released publicly on Wednesday.
The memo comes less than a week after the Food and Drug Administration gave its full approval to a variant of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and the German health technology firm BioNTech.
The Pfizer variant is one of three that was given conditional approval by the FDA during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is currently the only vaccine to have full approval by the federal agency. The Pentagon says it has enough supplies of the Pfizer variant to provide to approximately 800,000 military service members who have yet to receive the vaccine.
No guidance was given in the memo as to the type of deadline or guidance military leaders should offer for troops getting vaccinated, but a senior official told the Associated Press (AP) that Austin intended for service members to be fully vaccinated in a matter of “weeks, not months.”
Out of more than 2 million active duty and reserve personnel, more than 1 million have been fully vaccinated against the worst effects of COVID-19, and another 245,000 have received their first of two doses, according to data released by defense officials and cited by the AP.
None of the three vaccines developed prevent individuals from becoming infected with COVID-19, but all show strong evidence that they are capable of preventing the worst effects of the virus, particularly among individuals with pre-existing or debilitating health conditions.
Despite a majority of service members receiving one or both shots, some troops have shown a strong reluctance to receive the vaccine. Military hospitals throughout the United States have reported a surge in hospitalizations and deaths among service members and dependents as the so-called “Delta variant” of the virus becomes the dominant strain.
As part of the Defense Department’s ambitious vaccination plans, senior military officials will have to report back to the Pentagon on the vaccination status of its service members. The Pentagon will not require service members to get a vaccine if they can demonstrate a legitimate medical reason to receive an exemption.