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The U.S. Army began this Wednesday to expel soldiers who have refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19, a measure that affects more than 3,000 uniformed personnel. The Secretary of the Army, Christine Wormuth, ordered in a directive to begin the involuntary administrative separation of the military members who refuse to be immunized against the coronavirus and do not have any exemptions.
Wormuth urged commanders to comply with this order “as quickly as possible,” because, according to her, these soldiers present a “risk” to the force, despite different studies showing that vaccination in people under 30 does not bring greater benefits than risks and that most soldiers are already immunized.
According to Army data, as of January 26, 96% of active duty soldiers in this branch of the Armed Forces were fully vaccinated, while 3,350 had refused to be immunized and had received an official reprimand. Also, about 5,900 had received a temporary exemption.
In its directive, the Army states that those who have requested an exemption for medical or religious reasons, and whose cases have not yet been reviewed, are excluded from the order until their requests are studied.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ruled in August that all soldiers, both in active duty and reserve, will be vaccinated in compliance with President Biden’s order that all federal employees must be immunized against Covid-19. But still, Austin allowed each branch of the military to set its own deadlines: Both the Army and Air Force began discharging unvaccinated soldiers in December.
