Up to 12,000 members of the U.S. Air Force have refused to comply with President Joe Biden’s edict to be vaccinated, according to a new report. There will be a loss of readiness.
The report in The Washington Post estimates that 12,000 personnel will not be vaccinated by the time Tuesday’s deadline rolls around. Although members of all branches of the services are under orders to be vaccinated, the Air Force is the branch with the nearest deadline. Those not vaccinated can be separated from the service.
The Air Force has 324,000 active-duty airmen, according to the report.
The vast majority of active-duty airmen, 96.4%, are at least partially vaccinated, according to data from the Air Force, if you can believe the government. But officials have warned that, barring an approved medical or religious exemption, those who defy lawful orders to be fully immunized are subject to punishment, including possible dismissal from the service or they could be charged in the military justice system.
“The fact that it’s a choice leading to potential loss to readiness is striking,” said Katherine Kuzminski, a military policy expert with the Center for a New American Security.
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The Post report said vaccination rates in the Air Force have tapered off recently, and that anyone who has not already begun cannot achieve compliance by Tuesday.
Requests for exemptions are scrutinized up the chain of command, with those seeking religious exemptions being required to meet with a chaplain.
Exemptions that would otherwise be approved could be rejected if Air Force brass believes that having an unvaccinated person in a unit could negatively impact performance.
This is so absurd. Vaccinated people can get COVID and they can spread it. This is a farce in clown world.
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