[ad_1]
In mid-September, as the FDA approaches full approval of the Pfizer vaccine, the Pentagon will require the U.S. military to be vaccinated.
The White House and the Pentagon said on Monday that starting next month, the United States is preparing to require all U.S. military personnel to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“Vaccinations will keep our soldiers healthy, better protect their families, and ensure that our troops are ready to operate anywhere in the world,” President Joe Biden said in a statement issued at the White House.
President Biden said: “We cannot relax the fight against COVID-19, especially the Delta variant is spreading rapidly among unvaccinated people.”
After setting COVID-19 rules for federal workers, Biden last month Command the Pentagon Research on “how and when” requires approximately 750,000 unvaccinated military personnel to be vaccinated.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expectation that Pfizer and BioNTech SE vaccines will be fully approved, the Department of Defense has set the vaccination deadline in mid-September. Currently, these vaccines have been authorized by the FDA for emergency use designation.
According to Reuters, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated in a memo that if the FDA approves the vaccine earlier, the deadline may be advanced. Austin said that if the situation worsens, he can act more quickly or recommend a different route.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Monday: “We need a healthy and ready force.”
Kirby told reporters at the White House: “As for when the vaccine will be mandatory, we are still studying the details and policies.”
Two U.S. officials, who did not want to be named, told Reuters that the vaccine could have been immediately compulsory, but more than a month has been given to obtain full approval from the FDA, which should reduce concerns about the safety of the vaccine.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top infectious disease expert in the United States, said that he hopes that regulators can begin full approval of these vaccines as soon as possible this month.
Kirby said that about half of the U.S. armed forces have been fully vaccinated. If only active forces are counted, excluding members of the National Guard and Reserve, this figure will rise to 62%.
The Navy has the highest vaccination rate, and a high-profile outbreak broke out on an aircraft carrier last year. Approximately 73% of sailors were fully vaccinated.
In contrast, an average of approximately 60% of adults 18 years of age and older in the United States have been fully vaccinated.
Data from the Pentagon shows that because the U.S. military is generally younger and healthier than the general U.S. population, relatively few soldiers die from COVID-19.
Many Republicans in Congress refuse to say publicly whether they have been vaccinated, and some believe that the jab is unnecessary or dangerous.
[ad_2]
Source link