Pentagon requires military members get COVID-19 vaccine immediately

Now that the FDA has given full approval to Pfizer’s COVID vaccine, the Pentagon is taking action.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered service members to “immediately begin” receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a Pentagon memo released Wednesday.

“To defend this Nation, we need a healthy and ready force. After careful consultation with medical experts and military leadership, and with the support of the President, I have determined that mandatory vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is necessary to protect the Force and defend the American people,” Austin wrote in the memo.

No timeline was given for when troops are required to get the shot, but Austin said he directed service branch secretaries to “impose ambitious timelines for implementation,” and to report to him regularly on their progress.

The Defense Department held off on requiring COVID-19 vaccinations while the vaccines were under emergency use authorization, and will only mandate the vaccines that receive full approval, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday.