Vaccine refusal 33% in military

WASHINGTON — About 33% of service members have declined voluntary coronavirus vaccinations, defense officials said Wednesday, acknowledging that more inoculations would better prepare the military for worldwide missions.

Nearly 150,000 service members are fully vaccinated, a panel of defense officials told lawmakers in a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the Pentagon’s coronavirus response.

The acceptance rate “mirrors preliminary data that we see in other communities” of Americans, Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs, a Joint Chiefs of Staff health official, told lawmakers.

The military mandates that service members receive vaccinations at enlistment, and often additional inoculations, for typhoid, polio and other diseases, are required before deployments. But the emergency use authorization for the Moderna and Pfizer coronavirus vaccines prevents commanders from requiring their use without FDA approval, said Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeff Taliaferro, the vice director of operations for the Joint Chiefs.