ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he desires to keep the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place to guard the health of the troops, as Republican governors and lawmakers press to rescind it.
This past week greater than 20 Republican governors sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking that the administration remove the mandate, saying it has hurt the U.S. National Guard’s ability to recruit troops. Those troops are activated by governors to reply to natural disasters or unrest.
Congress may consider laws this coming week to finish the mandate as a requirement to assemble enough support to pass this years’ defense budget, which is already two months late.
Austin said he wouldn’t comment on pressure from the Hill.
“We lost one million people to this virus,” Austin told reporters traveling with him Saturday. “One million people died in the USA of America. We lost a whole lot in DOD. So this mandate has kept people healthy.”
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“I’m the guy” who ordered the military to require the vaccine, Austin added. “I support continuation of vaccinating the troops.”
Last yr Austin directed that each one troops get the vaccine or face potential expulsion from the military; hundreds of energetic duty forces have been discharged since then for his or her refusal to get the shots.
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