A month ago Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said he was “certain” that the “Pentagon leadership will take a look at” options, “including the potential option” of making COVID vaccinations mandatory,” if the FDA approves the shots. But this week, the Biden administration has decided not to wait for FDA approval. The Pentagon will mandate that all 1.3 million soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and guardsmen receive the experimental vaccines.
Military personnel are already mandated to get 17 different vaccines. The list includes shots for measles, mumps, diphtheria, hepatitis, smallpox, and the flu. So far, the COVID vaccines — still not approved by the FDA and still considered experimental — have been “voluntary” for troops. But, as anyone in the military can tell you, “voluntary” does not mean the same thing in the military that it does in the civilian world. With pressure from all sides and an expectation for troops take the experimental shots, the military boasts a vaccinated rate higher than that of the civilian population.
Now, following a presidential directive ”to look into how and when they will add COVID-19” to that list of mandated vaccines, all 1.3 million members of the military will be required to get the shots.
As Daily Mail reported:
Following a directive by President Joe Biden to explore the matter, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is leaning toward requiring all U.S. troops to get vaccinated for the coronavirus.
The Pentagon chief has been examining the issue as the Biden administration looks for ways to boost vaccination nationwide, while protecting military personnel who must content with viral variants even as they carry out their duties of providing for the national defense.
Austin’s ‘inclination is towards making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory’ for active-duty troops, CNN citing a Defense official.
The signal on his reported posture comes after Biden – who as commander-in-chief can issue the vaccine order for the the troops – made his own preference known, without going so far as to call for it.
The military mandate — which could be announced any day now — is part of a broader push for vaccines from the Biden administration. The military mandate likely serves as a precursor to a full-out national mandate — though that would likely require FDA approval. But that did not keep Biden from floating the idea last week. In his announcement of the move toward a military mandate, biden indicated that a national mandate is under consideration, saying, “The Justice Department has made it clear that it is legal to require COVID-19 vaccines.” While Biden’s remarks were given in the context of employers mandating the shots, the implication is clear: His administration believes it is legal to require people to get an experimental vaccine that does not have FDA approval.
It is a short step from that to the Biden administration mandating vaccines nationwide.
