US military forces around the world will no longer be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, after the mandate is rescinded under an $858 billion defense spending bill passed by Congress and signed on Friday by President Joe Biden.
The department has 30 days to work out the details to revoke the mandate. The Pentagon said Friday that, meanwhile, the military would halt any personnel actions, such as firing troops who refuse the injection, and all troops would be encouraged to get vaccinated and reinforced.
Biden had opposed the Republican-backed provision and agreed with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that revoking the mandate was not in the best interests of the military, according to White House officials.
But he ultimately agreed to requests from the Republican Party to push through the legislation. The controversial political issue, which has divided the United States, has forced more than 8,400 soldiers from the military for refusing to obey a legal order when they refused to receive the vaccine. Thousands of others have called for religious and medical exemptions.
The new law effectively ends such requests for exemptions, but questions remain as to whether the limited restrictions will continue for troops on specific missions or assigned to areas of the world where vaccination is still required.
Austin, who instituted the mandate last August after the Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer’s vaccine and as the coronavirus pandemic raged, remained steadfast in his desire to keep it, insisting the vaccine was needed to protect Health.
And he and other defense leaders have argued that for decades, troops, particularly those deployed overseas, have had to receive as many as 17 different vaccinations. No other vaccination mandates were affected by the new law. But Congress has agreed to rescind the mandate, with opponents reluctantly saying it may have already succeeded in inoculating most of the forces.
About 99% of active duty Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps troops had received the vaccine and 98% of the Army.
Guard and reserve rates are lower, but are generally over 90%.
After signing the defense bill into law on Friday, Biden said in a statement that some provisions “solve concerns,” but overall “provides vital benefits and improves access to justice for military personnel and their families, and includes the criticisms of the authorities to support our country’s national defense, foreign affairs and national security”.
The Ukrainian president stressed to Congress that their support is “vital” not only to resist the Russian invasion but also to reach a “tipping point” on the battlefield.
Bill includes about $45 billion more for defense programs than Biden requested and about 10% more than last year’s bill as lawmakers have tried to factor in inflation and increase the competitiveness of the nation’s military relationship with China and Russia.
Includes a 4.6 percent pay raise for Department of Defense service members and civilian workforce.
According to U.S. officials, the department will take at least part of the next 30 days to work out the details of the vaccination mandate waiver and decide what specific orders will come from Austin and what flexibility, if any, it will leave for duty secretaries. and understand.
Defense officials familiar with the ongoing discussions said there have been high-level meetings on the matter with some animated discussions, and service leaders have made it clear they want clear and specific guidance and for everyone to implement the new directive at the same time. same way.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the department is reviewing legal and medical opinions as they try to figure out how to mitigate any health risks during military missions.
Austin, however, could leave some decisions up to the services, including whether they might require vaccinations in some circumstances, such as some overseas deployments. In recent public comments, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro has suggested that lifting the vaccination mandate could divide the service into two classes of people: those who can take sides and those who cannot.
Military officials vividly remember the overwhelming crisis on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the Navy aircraft carrier that was sidelined and out of service in Guam for 10 weeks in early 2020, as the emerging virus engulfed the ship. Eventually more than 1,000 crew members were infected and one sailor died. Military leaders fear similar outbreaks could occur if troops start rejecting the vaccine in large numbers.
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The risk is particularly high on small vessels or submarines where service members are squeezed into confined spaces for weeks or months at a time, or on critical combat missions, such as those involving special operations forces deployed in small teams. What seems clear is that the department will not be forced to return service members who refused the vaccine and were discharged for not obeying an order.
An amendment to request his reinstatement on back pay did not pass. According to data collected by the military in early December, the Marine Corps leads services with 3,717 Marines discharged. There were 2,041 discharges from the Navy, 1,841 from the Army, and 834 from the Air Force. Air Force data includes Space Force.
What isn’t clear is whether services, facing recruiting challenges, will want to allow some service members to return, if they still meet all eligibility and other necessary requirements. Lawmakers argued that ending the term would help with the draft.
Defense officials responded by saying that while it might help somewhat, a department survey conducted during the first nine months of this year found a large majority said the mandate hasn’t changed the likelihood they would take consider enlistment.
