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By: FEDweek StaffDefense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III’s decision to order all uniformed personnel to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19 does not apply to family members and dependents. Unvaccinated active-duty and reserve-component service members should soon learn when and where they would receive their shots. Austin made inoculations against the virus mandatory following the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision to fully approve the Pfizer vaccine. It previously had been administered under an emergency-use approval.
In an Aug. 23 memo to Defense Department senior officials, Austin justified decision on both the FDA approval of the vaccine and the long-standing practice of issuing mandatory vaccinations.
“Mission-critical inoculation is almost as old as the U.S. military itself,” Austin stated.
Vaccinations will be administered under existing policies and procedures “to the extent practicable,” Austin said. Any complications or other possible reasons for exemption would be handled according to these guidelines as well. He also called upon each service to “impose ambitious timelines for implementation,” and provide regular reports on the ongoing process.
