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WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (AP) — U.S. troops around the world will no longer be required to vaccinate against COVID-19 after eliminating the mandate under an $858 billion defense spending bill passed by Congress and signed into law by the president Friday. Vaccine Joe Biden.
The Pentagon may now strongly encourage the military to get vaccinated, but has 30 days to work out the details of deauthorizing vaccines.
Biden opposed the Republican-backed provision, agreeing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that it would not be in the military’s best interest to revoke the authorization, according to White House officials. But he eventually accepted the Republicans’ demands to win the legislation.
The contentious political issue that has divided the United States has forced more than 8,400 service members to withdraw from the military for refusing to obey legal orders to be vaccinated. Thousands more have sought religious and medical exemptions.
The new law effectively ends those exemption requests, but questions remain over whether limited restrictions will continue to apply to troops on specific missions or sent to parts of the world that still require vaccinations.
Austin, who instituted the mandate last August after the Pfizer vaccine was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as the coronavirus pandemic raged, insisted that the vaccine is essential to protecting the health of troops. necessary.
He and other defense leaders argue that for decades, the military, especially those deployed overseas, has been required to receive as many as 17 different vaccines. The new law does not affect other vaccine mandates.
But Congress agreed to drop the mandate, and opponents reluctantly say it may have succeeded in getting most of the troops vaccinated. About 99 percent of active-duty members of the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, and 98 percent of the Army are vaccinated.
The guard rate and reserve rate are lower, but generally over 90%.
After signing the defense bill into law on Friday, Biden said in a statement that some provisions “raised concern” but overall it “provides important benefits to service members and their families and increases access to justice.” opportunities, and includes key authorities that support our nation’s defense, foreign affairs, and homeland security.”
The bill adds about $45 billion more to defense projects than Biden requested, about 10% more than last year’s bill, as lawmakers look to account for inflation and improve U.S. military competitiveness with China and Russia.
It includes a 4.6 percent raise for service members and DoD civilians.
According to U.S. officials, the department will spend at least some of the next 30 days working out the details of deauthorizing the vaccine and deciding what specific orders Austin will issue and what flexibility, if any, he will leave to service secretaries and officials. ). chief.
Defense Department officials familiar with the ongoing discussions said there have been high-level meetings on the issue and some intense discussions, with service leaders making it clear they want clear, specific guidance and for everyone to come to terms with Execute the new command in the same way.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions, said the department was reviewing legal and medical advice as they figure out how to mitigate any potential health risks on military missions.
However, Austin could leave some decisions to the military — including whether they need a vaccine in certain circumstances, such as certain overseas deployments. In recent public comments, Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro suggested that revoking the vaccine mandate could split the service into two categories: those who can deploy and those who cannot.
Military officials vividly recall the overwhelming crisis on the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, which was grounded and docked in Guam for 10 weeks in early 2020 as the coronavirus ravaged the ship. Eventually more than 1,000 crew members were infected and one sailor died.
Military leaders worry that a similar outbreak could emerge if the military starts refusing vaccinations in large numbers. The risk is especially high on small ships or submarines where service members are crammed into close quarters for weeks or months at a time, or on critical combat missions, such as those involving special operations forces deployed in small groups.
What is clear is that the department will not be forced to recall service members who refuse to be vaccinated and fired for insubordination. An amendment requiring them to pay back wages failed to pass.
The Marine Corps led the way, with 3,717 Marines retired, according to data compiled by the military through early December. There were 2,041 retirees from the Navy, 1,841 from the Army and 834 from the Air Force. Air Force figures include the Space Force.
What is unclear is whether the military, facing recruitment challenges, will allow some service members to return, provided they still meet all necessary health and other requirements.
Lawmakers argued that ending the mandate would help with hiring. Defense officials countered that while that might help, a departmental survey conducted in the first nine months of this year found an overwhelming majority said the authorization did not change their likelihood of considering enlisting. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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