A new report has found that hundreds of thousands of U.S. service members have yet to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as deadlines set by the Pentagon near.
Since the mandate by the Pentagon in August, the number of U.S. service members vaccinated for the virus has risen, but there are still lopsided rates across each branch. The report also found that there has also been a spike in deaths among military reservists.
Under the directive of President Joe Biden, Defense Department leaders informed the almost 2.1 million troops of the mandate. Leaders also shared that troops who do not receive the shot will face punishment.
A report from the Washington Post has found that while many have yet to receive the shot, it is different for each branch of the military.
Currently, 90% of the active-duty Navy is fully vaccinated, with 98% receiving at least one shot, while in the Marine Corps, 72% of active duty service members are vaccinated. Both branches of the military have a vaccination deadline of Nov. 28.
On the other hand, the Air Force has more than 60,000 airmen who still need to get the shot within its early deadline of three weeks.
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The deadline for those in the active-duty Army is Dec. 15, and nearly 81% of those service members are fully vaccinated.
The report also found that COVID-19 deaths have soared within the military as more personnel died from the virus in September than in all of 2020. Pentagon spokesman Maj. Charlie Dietz shared that none of the deaths were among fully vaccinated service members.
Military officials said that some of the difference in vaccination rates comes from different deadlines for each branch. However, they went on to share that they hope vaccination rates will rise as deadlines come closer.
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However, some are skeptical that vaccination deadlines will be met, especially among inactive service members. The report found that combined the 522,000 Army Guard and Reserve members, which make up roughly 25% of the entire U.S. military, account for 40% of the 62 service-member deaths due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, barely 40% are fully vaccinated.
While those in the National Guard serve part-time, they have seen a lot of action in the past year, with the pandemic, civil unrest, and wildfires forcing governors to mobilize them across the country. As a result, the National Guard was deployed the most it has been since World War II.
The current deadline for Guard and Reserve members is June of 2022, and in a recent statement, the Army defended the choice for bumping the deadline out.
The Army shared that the date reflects how large the organizations are compared to the other branches of the military and the constraints imposed by the geographical dispersal of its members.
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Army Spokesman Lt. Col. Terence M. Kelley shared that the expectation is for unvaccinated service members to receive the shot as quickly as possible while still noting that not all members live near military health clinics to receive the shot.
“We expect all unvaccinated soldiers to receive the vaccine as soon as possible. Individual soldiers are required to receive the vaccine when available,” Kelley said to the post. He added that the June deadlines will “allow reserve component units necessary time to update records and process exemption requests.”
As more deadlines continue to creep closer, service members will have to decide whether or not to get the shot or be punished for not doing so.
