COVID: Vaccines Mandatory For US Military Personnel Under New Plan

US military personnel will be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine from next month in a new plan laid out by the Pentagon on Monday.

In a memo sent round to all troops from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the new change is touted as the next necessary step in order to slow the spread of the virus among personnel and best maintain military readiness.

When briefing the media at the Pentagon yesterday, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said the US service branches were going to be tasked with forming implementation plans for staff across the Department of Defense.

He said: "We will request approval from the president for a waiver to make the COVID vaccines mandatory by mid-September."

He clarified that this deadline did not mean all troops would have to be vaccinated by next month.

"We have to understand, of course, that they have their own deployment schedules, their own manning constructs, their own differences in unvaccinated numbers and so we're going to be respectful of that."

Mr Kirby did reiterate that any plans could be accelerated if the vaccine receives final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or infection rates continue to rise.

"We're seeing an uptick in cases, an uptick in hospitalisations across the force, as we are in the country, and the Delta variant is a factor in that.

"So we're going to watch it closely and as the secretary told the force today if he needs to move and act sooner than this timeline then he'll do that.

"So we're going to watch the trends and make sure we're keeping readiness of the force at the forefront," he added.

Mr Kirby also confirmed that the Pentagon will be complying with the president's order for additional restrictions on unvaccinated federal personnel.

The new plan provides time for the FDA to give final approval to the Pfizer vaccine, which is expected early next month.

If the FDA does not sign it off, Mr Austin will need a waiver from President Biden to make vaccinations mandatory.

In a statement from the MOD, a spokesperson said all UK personnel abroad would be vaccinated in line with current UK national priority.

The statement said "We are committed to keeping our staff, their families and communities safe at home and overseas, and all our personnel are being vaccinated in line with national priority guidelines. 

"Seventy-nine percent of all serving personnel have received a vaccination and all personnel serving overseas have been offered a vaccine.

"There are no concerns regarding take-up as only 0.5% of Armed Forces personnel have formally declined a vaccine."

Service personnel are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 where there is a host nation requirement to do so, however, this does not overrule the individual's right to choose whether or not to take up the vaccine. 

Anyone failing or refusing to take a COVID vaccine would be ineligible to be employed in that host nation, and the MOD would instead look to employ them in an alternate role.

Cover image: US military personnel receiving a vaccine earlier this year (Picture US Department of Defense).