WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 9: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper testify during a House Armed Services Committee hearing. (Photo by Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)
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UPDATED 6:15 PM PT – Wednesday, February 17, 2021
According to testimony by military leaders before the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday, troops are putting off receiving the coronavirus vaccine. Members of the Joint Chiefs told Congress around two-thirds of service members have been vaccinated, but some refused the treatment.
According to reports, officials said refusal rates varied and depended on factors like age, location and deployment status. Commanders said they worked hard to make sure troops could operate in a COVID environment before vaccines were available.
Medical workers load syringes with the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine to be administered by nurses at a vaccination site at Kedren Community Health Center, in South Central Los Angeles, California on February 16, 2021. (Photo by Apu GOMES / AFP) (Photo by APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images)
“We don’t precisely know why an individual has not received a vaccine,” Maj. Gen. Jeff Taliaferro, Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Director for Operations, said. “We think it’s important that this department continues to communicate to our service members the value of the vaccine, the safety of the vaccine with continued leadership involvement to help our service members understand that.”
One commander said vaccines aren’t mandatory yet, but will likely become mandatory as soon as possible.
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