Coronavirus

Thousands Of Service Members Decline COVID Vaccine

Some Army units are reporting as few as a third have agreed to getting the vaccine.

Thousands Of Service Members Decline COVID Vaccine
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Anthony Nelson Jr. / Department of Defense / AP
SMS

Thousands of U.S. service members have either refused or have not gotten a COVID-19 vaccine.

Some Army units are reporting as few as a third have agreed to getting the vaccine.

The worry is the close proximity they work in, and some members are out helping distribute and administer the vaccine.

Because the vaccine has not gotten final approval from the CDC, it's voluntary.

"We believe that, of course, the vaccine is the right thing to do," said Vice Director for Operations, Joint Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Jeff Taliaferro. "It's clearly safe for service members and we need to continue to educate our force and help them understand the benefits and ensure there's leadership involvement in the discussion of the benefits of the of the vaccine."

Military leaders said very early data suggests that up to two-thirds of all service members offered the vaccine have accepted.

Service leaders have held town halls, written messages, distributed scientific data, posted videos and even shared photos of leaders getting the vaccine to promote it.