The first military COVID-19 vaccine mandate will take effect in November. Theyre basically saying, Nope, the vaccine is the only way that were going to allow you to continue to remain in the service. And one of the things I forgot to mention was the whole concept of natural immunity. He has criticized the Air Force for what he sees as a failure to carefully consider the merits of each exemption request and instead sweepingly reject them. And theyre discriminating against people in the military. Adam Rawnsley. And at least in the Starbucks is that Ive been in recently where theyve been packed in like sardines. Because they will not compromise these religious beliefs, Plaintiffs have been threatened with separation from the military and other disciplinary action. The Texas lawsuit also states the plaintiffs are willing to continue to wear masks, social distance and take mandatory COVID-19 tests, rather than get vaccinated. But in terms of the underlying legal issues that are raised, no, theyre exactly the same. Military officials announced this week that, after months of warnings, they have . This disparity of treatment between medical and religious exemptions was constitutionally prohibited,Judge Reed OConnor said. And then if you come back and you say, oh, no, but my exemption is a medical exemption [see Contraindications and Precautions]not a religious exemption, then the military says, Oh, well, in that case, we welcome you with open arms. Similar to the Navy, the Marine Corps is no longer stopping unvaccinated Marines from deployments. The military's COVID-19 vaccine was repealed after the National Defense Authorization Act passed and was signed into law this month. "I am proud of the efforts the Department of the Army has taken to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic," Wormuth said. Hey you have the Friday night shift, right? The temporary restraining order means the military cannot punish airmen and Space Force guardians whose application for a religious exemption to one of the federally endorsed vaccines was denied or is still being processed. And the way that they are accomplishing their compelling interest is the least restrictive means on the persons religious beliefs. Mike Barry:It would be everyone who is requested and been denied a religious accommodation from the vaccine mandates, specifically the COVID vaccine mandate. Jared Serbu: I want to go back to what you said earlier about the process being a sham, because I want to try and draw how much of an issue that actually is, in these cases. Top Pentagon officials do not plan to alter their current "lawful orders" requiring the coronavirus shots for troops, unless they are granted waivers for medical or religious purposes, the. Thats really prohibited by the by the courts considering these types of cases. Those records are supposed to be cleared by March 31, according to the guidance. VICP provides compensation for injuries and deaths caused by The Supreme Court ruled in March 2022 that the sea service was allowed to reassign sailors who had refused the shot and filed exemption requests to nonoperational commands. Plaintiffs, therefore, do not object to safety measures that reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace, it reads. The Navy already denied these exemptions, but O'Connor. The Supreme Court is reviewing a legal shield that tech companies have long relied on to avoid liability for content on their platforms. But their. All of the military services have released vaccine refusal policies, none of them involving judicial or non-judicial charges for simply staying unvaccinated. The U.S . 3 min read POINT PLEASANT, NJ A U.S. Marine from Point Pleasant who was discharged. For OConnor, the violation ofthe lawwas clear: Defendants have substantially burdened Plaintiffs religious beliefs. The NAVADMIN, referencing the injunction, prevents adverse action against sailors who will not get the COVID-19 vaccine and submitted a religious exemptions request. Theyre not following their own regulations. Sixty-seven percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. On Tuesday, a federal judge granted an injunction against discipline of an Air Force officer whose religious exemption had been denied. FILE - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022. The problem here is that the government is simply unwilling to offer any compromises. A timeline of when vaccines are due was left up to the . Its really the same thing in the military context with this vaccine, where theyre saying, Look, teleworking or, doing a lot of these other measures, right, social distancing, masking, testing, whatever the case might be. They argue that their. In late August, Pfizers vaccine received full approval under the brand name Comirnaty. At 1,038, the Marine Corps leads the military branches for the most separations. So our lawsuit is really predicated on on the argument that this is all a sham, that the Air Force is not following the Constitution. But nevertheless, how many, I fly almost on a weekly basis for my job. The soldier and Marine also want their case escalated into a class action lawsuit to take in other military personnel plus Department of Defense contractors. "It hasn't done it yet. All told the lawsuit includes 26 SEALs from the original complaint, plus five special warfare combatant crewmen, five divers and one explosive ordnance disposal technician who joined the case in late January. The government has since filed a notice that it plans to appeal the decision. The first lawsuit to garner national attention, filed in Texas late last year, made a splash because its plaintiffs include SEALs, among the most elite of the militarys special operations forces. OConnor ruled that the blanket denial of their religious waiver requests amounted to a violation of the service members rights under the First Amendment andthe Religious Freedom Restoration Act. According data submitted in the Florida case on Feb. 8: The services have declined to provide any details about the circumstances of the religious approvals, but both lawsuits allege that at least one of those Marines is due to leave service later this year. WASHINGTON The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the. The service members sued this week to vacate a Pentagon vaccine mandate for all those in the military, arguing they face imminent harm if a court order isn't issued temporarily blocking the. However, in a strange turn of events, while Bolsonaro was eating Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes in Orlando, a group of Bolsonaristas (supporters of Bolsonaro) attacked the Brazilian Supreme Court, Congress, and Presidential Palace in Brasilia and called for a military coup.Lula blamed Bolsonaro personally for the attacks; Moraes quickly moved to suspend Brasilia's governor and security chief . And one of the reasons for that is if they if theyre between the ages of 17 and 23, and theyre not vaccinated, were not even willing to talk to them. And so theyre basically closing off an entire segment of society in a discriminatory manner. When you treat people who have a medical exemption for more favorably than you treat somebody who has a religious exemption, that is textbook discrimination, and thats whats happening. Were going from a 50-step process to a zero-step process? Duncan asked. They are, theyre ignoring the law, theyre ignoring the Constitution. The Florida case began with a Navy and Marine Corps officer in 2021, but has soon ballooned to 36 plaintiffs from all military branches as well as some civilian Defense Department employees. Plaintiffs sincerely held religious beliefs that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and that they are to glorify God with their bodies lays the foundation for everything they do, consume, or inject into their bodies, according to the Florida lawsuit. Ho and Judge Kyle Duncan noted that the administration had only reluctantly ended the military mandate after December congressional action, but Ross assured the panel that there are no plans to bring back the requirement. More than a dozen unidentified U.S. service members have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Defense Department's COVID-19 vaccine order, saying they have natural immunity from. Like the other service branches, the Navy required all active-duty service members to be fully vaccinated before Nov. 28 or risk a full range of disciplinary action. The plaintiffs argue that violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Theres yet another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the militarys COVID-19 vaccine mandate. AFLDS has also pushed ivermectin and. Its just such an inappropriate position for the government to be in.. Given the prevailing public health guidelines and the state of the virus, there is currently no intention to require universal vaccination of all service members, Ross said. Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. This means that you do not need to prove that your injury was caused by a doctor or the vaccine company's mistake. Both cases are in a wait-and-see phase, where judges have granted injunctions against any discipline for vaccine refusal while the government responds to requests for information. Mike Barry:Well, I mean, thats the beauty of the way that the law works, right? NEW ORLEANS Federal appeals court judges closely questioned a Biden administration attorney Monday on the consequences military personnel might face for refusing COVID-19 vaccinations, even though Bidens vaccine mandate for military personnel has been rescinded. Theyre usually willing to accept that and say, look, yeah, Im happy to. Pfizer Inc wants to intervene in a Texas federal lawsuit seeking information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration used in licensing the company's COVID-19 vaccine, a litigation move that . DOD Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr., Commercial airlines has said, you know what, were gonna lift the mask mandate. The Justice Department intends to appeal the Texas ruling, while a temporary injunction in the Florida case expires Friday. Night shifts arent popular, especially on Friday night, and things like that. Their lawyers have called a sham with applications being categorically denied., The Defense Department denied the process was onerous and said the Navy has a compelling interest in requiring vaccinations for personnel who often operate for long periods in confined spaces that are ripe breeding grounds for respiratory illnesses.. By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square) Military leaders will testify on Tuesday before the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee about the impact of the Department of Defense's COVID-19 vaccine mandate on DOD employees and military service members. On Friday, President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023, which repeals the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for service members. A ruling in that case, issued this past November by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, upheld previous wins by attorneys representing the service members over the last year and took aim at the Air Force's process of approving religious exemptions. All rights reserved. Other plaintiffs focus not on the abortion issue, but on several Bible passages that refer to the body as a temple. The lawsuit, in which 14 men and two women serving in the military are named as plaintiffs, names U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, three U.S. military service secretaries and other. Another lawsuit, first filed by troops attached to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, has led to temporary protections for around 10,000 active-duty, Active Reserve, reserve and National Guard members of the Air Force and Space Force who requested a religious exemption from the COVID vaccine, although only those who have been denied an exemption would face immediate action. Theyre not pleasant. On Jan. 7,the Supreme Court is set to hear oral argumentsin a set of high-profile, consolidated cases on the Biden administrations vaccine mandates for private-sector entities with 100 or more employees, and for health care facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funding. 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They had been told to get certain vaccines or other things without even be notified of a religious objection.. All 16 service members joined the lawsuit anonymously, listing in the filing only their currently assigned bases and statuses in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or reserve components. Our lawsuit is certainly centered on religious exemption, but our lawsuit is broader than that to block the mandate in general of a non-FDA approved product, Staver said. But there may be good reason for that. Read Next: The Navy's Top Enlisted Sailor Is Ready for You to Ask Him Anything. And in fact, he said, the exemption process is fraught in and of itself. Any sailors who submitted a religious exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine can continue in the Navy under the injunction, according to NAVADMIN 102/22. And I have yet to hear of a single flight being canceled because there was a COVID outbreak at 30,000 feet. All of the military services are currently reworking their policies to adjust separation and promotion records for service members who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, after the Pentagon ended the inoculation mandate last month. So if you can find a way to accommodate somebodys religious beliefs, in a less burdensome way right, a way thats less obstructive or cumbersome on their religious exercise, then if the person is really sincere in their religious beliefs, theyll usually accept that. Other federal court challenges to various COVID-19 vaccine mandates are ongoing. Staver, the attorney for the Florida plaintiffs, said his clients have shared their exemption rejection letters, which do not detail specifically why their requests werent approved. The Marine Corps confirmed to a California congressman that two of those Marines were preparing to leave the service, while another one is doing a Training With Industry assignment. Military service members have. Biden appointee behind unlawful military vaccine mandate to step down. Of course, that came because of a federal judges ruling. All of the military services are currently reworking their policies to adjust separation and promotion records for service members who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, after the Pentagon. Still, the organization said Covaxin is still a safe and effective product. Dr Terry Adirim, the government bureaucrat behind the infamous and unlawful Pentagon vaccine mandate, will "leave her post in the coming days," reports FedScoop. So I think that if one of these cases does end up in front of the Supreme Court, it will probably be addressed just on the narrow vaccine issue. (Susan Walsh/AP, File). msn back to msn home news Skip To Navigation Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine was developed and cleared for emergency use in eight months a fact . And is there somewhere else we can assign them where maybe theyre at less risk of of COVID transmission or they start looking at the data, right, the actual CDC data and the COVID day they start look kicking it around and saying, You know what? Their objections to the vaccine fall into one of four categories, according to their complaint, including opposition to abortion and the use of fetal cell lines in pharmaceutical development, belief that body modification violates their religious principles, direct, divine instruction not to receive the vaccine, or declining to inject trace amounts of animal cells into ones body.. The government responded to the lawsuit by pointing out that immunization requirements are common in the military beginning with the Continental Army under George Washington and that vaccines and are essential to preventing the transmission of diseases in close quarters. And they recognize that theres almost a presumption of belief. The number of exemptions has fluctuated over the last several months as some people decided to get the shots or leave the service instead of seeking accommodation. New family, former Corvias employee join lawsuit against Fort . And now people will be able to take the analysis Supreme Court used and say, Okay, the way that they analyzed this issue, that might give us some indication of how they would analyze other issues, right. Two Eglin Air Force base officers are among the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. military personnel. And so of course, that means you have to bring different lawsuits on behalf of people, depending on what branch of the military that theyre in. Through much prayer and reflection, Plaintiffs have sought wisdom, understanding, and guidance on the proper decisions to make concerning these COVID-19 vaccines, and Plaintiffs have been convicted by the Holy Spirit that accepting any of the three currently available vaccines is against the teachings of Scripture and would be a sin, according to a Florida lawsuit first filed in late 2021, then amended on Feb. 7 with additional plaintiffs. The Army reported about 1,300 religious requests, none of which have been approved, as well as six medical exemptions. So that, right now that number is several thousand. Three of the event's witnesses doctors Jay Bhattacharya, Martin Kulldorf, and Marty Makary are part of a small group of medical experts known as the Norfolk Group. In one of many ongoing federal lawsuits challenging COVID-19 vaccine mandates across the country, Judge Reed O'Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a group . "This guidance is a promise of what the Air Force is saying it will do," Bruns told Military.com. Related: Navy Lifts COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement for Deployments. None of the plaintiffs clarify whether they engage in any other behavior that might be seen as a desecration of that temple, whether its alcohol, drugs, unprotected sex or in the case of the Old Testament tattoos and piercings. The Air Force number is probably in the same ballpark. The same day the Pentagon set the deadline for the services, several of the branches -- namely the Army and Air Force -- began issuing their guidance, which stated they would remove or correct adverse actions in records related to vaccine refusal. I think one of the militarys concerns is whats the limiting principle here? Each week, Defense Reporter Jared Serbu speaks with the managers of the federal government's largest department. The Marine Corps separated 165 Marines over the past week due to their refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Also missing from the lawsuits are any new religious conversion, or simply the possibility that they were previously unaware of the role of replicated fetal stem cells in pharmaceutical development, that would explain why they never objected to any vaccines or medications before. The only difference is really is that each branch of the military has their own internal regulations and policies for how they adjudicate these things. Researchers cultivate these cells for generations, using their derivatives to create or test all manner of pharmaceutical products. Copyright 2023 Military.com. "We will continue to promote and encourage COVID-19 vaccination for all personnel to ensure readiness, facilitate mission accomplishment, and protect the force.". The Marine Corps had fielded 3,500 religious waiver requests, granting three, in addition to about 250 medical waivers and 400 other administrative approvals. As part of the exemption process, service members are required to meet with a chaplain to work through their concerns.