Pentagon to troops: Get vaccinated ASAP

More than 800,000 U.S. service members have yet to get their COVID-19 shots, according to Pentagon data. Now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the Defense Department is adding it to the list of required shots for military service. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday ordered military leaders to “impose ambitious timelines for implementation” of the requirement.

How long do troops have? The Austin memo did not dictate a specific timeline for completing the vaccinations. But it says the military services will have to report regularly on their progress. And a senior defense official said that Austin has made it clear to the services that he expects them to move quickly and that this will be completed in weeks, not months. The military’s vaccine rules allow medical and administrative exemptions, including for religious reasons.

Dig deeper: Read Steve West’s report in Liberties on a court case about medical students’ objections to vaccine mandates.