U.S. military service members in Alaska and worldwide will be required to get COVID-19 vaccines beginning next month.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced yesterday that he’s ordering mandatory vaccinations in response to President Biden’s request to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for service members.
Austin says the new policy will become effective either when the president approves his plan to implement the it by mid-September or when U.S. Food and Drug Administration fully approves licensure of one of the widely available COVID-19 vaccines — whichever comes first. In a news release, Austin said the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is likely to achieve full FDA licensure early next month.
Austin said he consulted with Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Army Gen. Mark Milley, the armed services secretaries and medical professionals on the vaccine-mandate plan.
