According to Reuters, the US Army said on Wednesday that soldiers who refuse to undergo the COVID-19 vaccination will be dismissed.
“Army readiness depends on soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said in a statement. “Unvaccinated soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness.” The Pentagon issued a vaccine mandate for all active duty members with the Army setting a deadline for Dec. 15.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said in a message to the Air Force that requiring vaccinations in the military “is not new,” citing the necessity that recruits take numerous doses during their first few days of basic training, according to NBC News. Even as the deadline for this latest directive approached, individuals in the Army were dragging their feet.
According to NBC News, 19,000 Army personnel had not even begun the routine one week before the deadline of Dec. 15.
According to the New York Times, other arms of the military have already begun discharging soldiers who refuse to get immunized against the sickness. Last Monday, the Navy released 45 service personnel, marking the first wave of departures since its own deadline of Nov. 28. The Pentagon claims that 97 percent of the 1.3 million active duty soldiers have received at least one dosage of the vaccination, and that less than 100 service members have been fired as a result of the order.
Around 80 military personnel have died as a result of COVID-19 complications.