The U.S. Army next month will begin kicking out soldiers who refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine and aren’t in the process of seeking an exemption to the Department of Defense’s vaccination policy.
The service’s deadline for active-duty troops to be fully vaccinated was in mid December, and the Pentagon has indicated it will start removing unvaccinated soldiers “beginning in January,” according to Army Public Affairs.
Army officials have said more than 95 percent of troops in the active-duty ranks are fully vaccinated. The service is still processing thousands of exemption requests for those seeking medical or religious exemptions.
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“To those who continue to refuse the vaccine and are not pending a final decision on a medical or administrative exemption, I strongly encourage you to get the vaccine. If not, we will begin involuntary separation proceedings,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said in a statement circulated on December 16.
At the time, the Army confirmed that it had received more than 600 requests for permanent medical exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine. Army officials said more than 3,800 active-duty troops, less than one percent of the total force, have refused the vaccination order without a pending or approved exemption.
It remains to be seen how many soldiers will ultimately be kicked out of the service.
Officer cadets at the U.S. Military Academy and in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps must now also be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or receive an approved exemption before they can be commissioned.
Similar circumstances are playing out in the other services. More than 10,000 members of the active and reserve-component Air Force have requested a religious exemption to their COVID-19 vaccination program. Air Force officials have said about 2,100 were disapproved due to “military readiness considerations.”
While a chaplain might confirm that an airmen’s request is sincere, Air Force officials say the needs of the service must come first. “Commanders have to balance that member’s interests against the overall impact on operational readiness, health and safety of members and good order and discipline within the unit,” Air Force Undersecretary Gina Ortiz Jones said in a statement.
More than 8,600 religious accommodation requests against taking the COVID-19 vaccine are still pending in the Air Force. None have been approved with more than 150 rulings currently under appeal.