What do you think of the military’s vaccine mandate?
Staff Sgt. Bruna Souza, of the 102nd Medical Group, administers a COVID-19 vaccine during an immunization clinic at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts. (Kerri Spero/Air National Guard)
All service members are now, as of full Food and Drug Administration approval, required to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Unless they have a religious or medical exemption, or are currently participating in a clinical trial, service members could face “career-ending” consequences for not getting it, as one Army memo states.
“This is quite literally a matter of life and death for our soldiers, their families and the communities in which we live,” said Lt. Gen. R. Scott Dingle, the Army surgeon general, according to Federal News Network. “Case counts and deaths continue to be concerning as the delta variant spreads, which makes protecting the force through mandatory vaccination a health and readiness priority for the total Army.”
The time allotted to get the vaccine varies by service and by command. In his Aug. 24 memorandum for Pentagon leadership, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin advised commands to follow “ambitious timelines for implementation.”
The new vaccine is still quite controversial for many Americans, however. And we want to know how you feel about it.
What do you think of military leaders’ decision to make the vaccine mandatory for troops? And how is this affecting your military family?
We are collecting responses to include in an upcoming episode of the podcast. If you’d like to share your opinion, please leave a voicemail on our Google Voice number: (202) 630-1616. You can also record a message and email it to us at podcast@thespouseangle.com or send it in a message on Facebook or Instagram @spouseanglepodcast. (The Voice Memos app works great for this!)
Please include your name and military affiliation, along with your thoughts and opinions and keep recordings under two minutes. If you would prefer to include only your first name or remain anonymous, please contact us at the aforementioned email address or social media accounts and let us know.
If you’d like to participate, please send in your submissions no later than Monday, Sept. 20, by 11:59 p.m. PST.