The Pentagon will require all military personnel to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 15, according to a new memo from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin released Monday.
“I will seek the president’s approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September, or immediately upon” final approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “whichever comes first,” Austin wrote in the memo to troops.
He added that Pentagon officials “will also be keeping a close eye on infection rates,” currently on the rise now due to the highly contagious delta variant. If the rates begin to impact military readiness, “I will not hesitate to act sooner or recommend a different course to the President if l feel the need to do so. To defend this Nation, we need a healthy and ready force.”
The Associated Press first reported on the memo earlier Monday.
Biden — who late last month told Defense Department officials to come up with a plan to require troops to get shots — on Monday said he “strongly” supports Austin’s new message.
“Secretary Austin and I share an unshakable commitment to making sure our troops have every tool they need to do their jobs as safely as possible,” Biden said in a statement.
“Being vaccinated will enable our service members to stay healthy, to better protect their families, and to ensure that our force is ready to operate anywhere in the world. We cannot let up in the fight against COVID-19, especially with the Delta variant spreading rapidly through unvaccinated populations. We are still on a wartime footing, and every American who is eligible should take immediate steps to get vaccinated right away,” he said.
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