4,000 soldiers refuse COVID-19 vaccine as deadline passes

Almost 4,000 U.S. soldiers refuse to get vaccinated and could be discharged if they fail to comply, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

Around 98 percent, or 486,459, active-duty Army soldiers received at least one dose of the vaccine ahead of the December 15 vaccination deadline, according to the Army. About 96 percent of soldiers are fully vaccinated.

The Army is still processing requests for religious and medical exemptions. However, military officials say there are many soldiers without exemptions who are refusing the shot.

“Commanders reported that 3,864 active-duty soldiers, less than 1% of the active force, have refused the vaccination order without a pending or approved exemption,” said the Army in a statement.

Military personnel across all services could be discharged in the coming weeks for failing to comply with the vaccine mandate.

“These thousands that we’re talking about, they still have an opportunity to do the right thing, to do the right thing for themselves and their units,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said on Thursday. “We obviously hope they will. But if they don’t, it’s a lawful order and it has to be obeyed.”

In November, the Army announced that soldiers who refused to be vaccinated without an exemption would be barred from reenlisting, receiving promotions, appearing before a semi-centralized promotion board, and receiving awards and decorations.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the vaccine mandate for all military services in mid-September. However, he left it up to each service to determine their deadline. The Army established December 15, 2021 as its deadline. National Guard soldiers have to be vaccinated by June 30, 2022. The Air Force set December 2 as its vaccination deadline. The Navy required proof of vaccination by November 28.

This week, the Air Force discharged 27 members for refusing to be vaccinated, marking the first time service members were discharged for not following the vaccine mandate.

As of Monday, around 74 percent of active-duty personnel throughout all services are vaccinated and 65 percent are partially vaccinated.