206 Marines Discharged So Far For Refusing Covid Vax
The U.S. Marines continue to purge its ranks of those who refuse to get the coronavirusvaccine.
Active-duty Marines had until Nov. 14 to get vaccianted or apply for an exemption, while anyone who didn't comply would face being discharged. By Thursday, 206 Marines have experienced such a fate, a spokesperson for the service branch told the Washington Examiner.
The percentage of those who have been discharged represents slightly more than one-tenth of 1% of the total active-duty Marines population, which is roughly 182,500.
The updated vaccination rate among active-duty Marines remains at 94% fully vaccinated with an additional 1% having been partially vaccinated. The percentages were the same as last Thursday's update from the service branch.
Five percent of the active-duty force equals roughly 9,125 active-duty Marines who have not been vaccinated, though that number includes troops who have received or requested an exemption.
The Marines have approved slightly more than 1,000 medical or administrative exemptions to the vaccine, though they have not granted any religious exemptions. There have been 3,247 religious exemption requests, and 3,115 have been processed and rejected, with the remaining ones yet to be determined.
Reserve Marines had until mid-December to receive their vaccination. Although that deadline has passed, the vaccination rate is considerably lower than that of the active-duty forces.
The reserve force is 83% vaccinated and the percentage rises to 86% when including those who are partially vaccinated.
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Troops of any service branch that are discharged from their positions over their refusal to get the coronavirus vaccination cannot be discharged under less than the general designation as a result of a provision included in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, which President Joe Biden recently signed into law.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has said there are "active" conversations going on within Defense Department leadership about whether to mandate a booster shot, though there have been no announcements.
Link: marine-discharges-over-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-continue-to-rise-to-206
