The Pentagon has required that all 1.4 million members of the military get the COVID-19 vaccine by September 15. In a memo sent to Department of Defense employees on Monday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he would seek Joe Biden’s approval to mandate vaccines for all active-duty troops.
Austin also stated that he would not hesitate to move up the deadline if Coronavirus infections continued to rise. He has also made it very clear that if the FDA gave final approval of the vaccines earlier than expected, the deadline requiring all personnel to get vaccinated could be pushed to an earlier date.
“To defend this Nation, we need a healthy and ready Force. All FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines are safe and highly effective. They will protect us, and they will ensure we remain the most lethal and ready force in the world”.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III
