There was an article in the Army Times yesterday that discussed this issue. It referenced a House Armed Services Committee hearing and implied that one third of DoD personnel have turned down the vaccine. It didn’t break down the numbers for each service branch nor did it differentiate between active duty military, reserve, national guard, civil service employees, and contractors. All are, however, accounted for in Covid statistics as DoD personnel.
The Army Times article titled, ‘Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination unlikely so long as supply remains low, Army health official says’, written by Kyle Rempfer, goes on to say, “There are a lot of reasons why soldiers may not be taking the vaccine, including a personal choice related to one’s medical history, unease with the vaccine’s approval process or disqualification by a physician, according to Army Inspector General Lt. Gen. Leslie Smith. “Or it could be that they just want to wait to see how others react to the vaccine,” Smith said Monday at the town hall. “It also could be that they simply missed their appointment. Individuals can also formally decline to get the vaccine without offering a reason at all.” In addition the article states, “Experts believe the vaccines are safe for women trying to become pregnant in the short- or long-term, but there’s still limited data about the safety for people who are pregnant or lactating, since those cases weren’t studied in the original vaccine trials.”
Thus, there are many reasons that DoD personnel are not getting immunized, but there are several facts that the article and perhaps other media outlets didn’t mention and took out of context from this hearing. First, when asked about the specific percentage of active duty military getting the vaccine, MGen Taliaferro stated in the hearing, “Acceptance rates are in the two thirds territory.” He went on to say that the “military had to prove they could operate in a pre-vaccine environment and have demonstrated they are fully capable of operating in a Covid environment.” When asked if troops were deployable, he confirmed they are deployable even if not vaccinated. “Readiness ratings have stayed at historic norms.” When asked specifically if troops were refusing the vaccine, he was very careful to state only an approximate acceptance rate because at present the vaccine is voluntary. If it were mandatory or a precondition of deployment, then you would have an actual refusal rate. In addition, he stated DoD is following the tiered approach. They do not have enough product to provide to everyone in DoD at this time.
My takeaway is that while committee members wanted to criticize the military for not making the vaccine mandatory, the military officers present did a great job by not engaging in this exchange and instead explained that military readiness has NOT been degraded, that they have adapted and overcome without the vaccine. If you have time, listen to the hearing. It’s available online. It gives you a tremendous appreciation for all the amazing work that DoD has done concerning Covid, from research to setting up mobile vaccine sites. Further, the military is following CDC guidelines for distribution. Not all active duty military are front line, operational or even mission essential forces. Many are young, healthy and very low risk. Many are attending schools or in training pipelines. Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, physician and former US Army Major reminded the committee that there were laws in place that specifically prevented using experimental drugs on troops and the Covid vaccine is still experimental. I, for one, have tremendous respect for their approach. So take some time and listen to the hearing. Our military forces are simply the best in the world.
Full Committee Hearing: “Update on the Department of Defense’s Evolving Roles and Mission in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic” - Hearings - House Armed Services Committee - Democrats