The Pentagon announced Monday that vaccination against Covid-19 will become mandatory “by mid-September” for all members of the US armed forces, amid a dangerous rise in infections in the United States caused by the mutant delta.
To this , US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo that he would seek President Joe Biden’s approval of this step within five weeks if none of the current vaccines received full authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration “FDA”.
Lawsuit fears
Because Covid vaccines only have licenses for emergency use, the Pentagon can only make them mandatory by Biden in order to avoid any subsequent lawsuits.
But Austin may issue the order to vaccinate the forces sooner if the Pfizer vaccine obtains the full license soon, as officials believe that it is possible that Pfizer will obtain full approval for its vaccine from the “FDA” at the beginning of September. September.
Austin indicated that if the FDA does not grant the Pfizer vaccine or others its full approval, he will then seek an exceptional decision from Biden.
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Biden strongly supports the decision
Biden expressed in a statement his “strong support” for this decision, stressing that he shares with Austin “A firm commitment to ensure that all necessary tools are available for our forces to carry out their work as safely as possible.”
American soldiers are required to receive 17 vaccines for various diseases, all of which are FDA approved.
At the end of July, Biden demanded that the military study “how and when” adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of mandatory vaccinations for the military. Percent of American adults receive at least one dose of the vaccine until the beginning of this week, about a month late. The number of vaccinated individuals has risen again, but in a slight way since the beginning of July.
