Military leaders have long argued that to maintain unit health and troop readiness, troops have for decades been required to get as many as 17 vaccines, particularly those who are deploying overseas. Theyre not following their own regulations. Only the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is manufactured using fetal cell lines. Theyre usually willing to accept that and say, look, yeah, Im happy to. In the Navy, none of more than 4,000 religious exemptions had been approved, but there were about 252 temporary and 11 permanent medical exemptions. 26 Feb 2023 11:38:25 All the things that, you know, that the Navy was doing to harass and punish sailors we basically wanted that to all stop, Mike Berry, a former Marine judge advocate and now vice president at First Liberty Institute, which represents the Texas plaintiffs, told Military Times on Wednesday. Whats clear is that the COVID-19 has broken open a bit of a wormhole in the military. Complainants push back on the militarys position that remaining unvaccinated endangers the force and undermines national security, since the vast majority of troops have received all of a one- or two-shot regimen. 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. Jared Serbu: This case seems remarkably similar to another case that I think First Liberty was also counsel on with a group of Navy SEALs before the very same judge, I believe too. Mike Berry, general counsel for First Liberty Institute,said: Forcing a service member to choose between their faith and serving their country is abhorrent to the Constitution and Americas values . At 1,038, the Marine Corps leads the military branches for the most separations. And I havent heard of a single Starbucks shutting down. Its just such an inappropriate position for the government to be in.. The Pentagon has not provided any public updates or said when the formal policy will be issued. Air Force vaccine case will remain a class-action, appeals court rules 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. 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. Could the Supreme Court strike down the military's vaccination mandate? The Bonkers Lawsuit to Stop the Pentagon's Vaccine Mandate Lawsuits over military vaccine mandate to continue despite DOD Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said in the press release that the service is still, however, encouraging vaccinations. And in fact, he said, the exemption process is fraught in and of itself. Federal judge expands exemption to military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate The Pentagon formally dropped the requirement in January following a December vote in Congress to end the mandate. In fact, as of Dec. 17, the religious accommodation requests of at least 29 of the 35 naval plaintiffs had been flatly denied. Just because the plaintiffs identify as a member of one religion or another doesnt mean they need to follow every tradition, according to Griffin, the former Coast Guard lawyer, nor would they need to justify why they are religiously opposed to the COVID-19 vaccine in particular. 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. 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. WASHINGTON (AP) A bill to rescind the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense passed the House on Thursday as. 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. Per FDA guidance, these two vaccines are interchangeable and DoD health care providers should use doses distributed under the EUA to administer the vaccination series as if the doses were the licensed vaccine, " she wrote. Compensation Programs for Potential COVID-19 Vaccine Injuries - Congress The quickest vaccine ever developed was for mumps. 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. But Islamic tradition does not discourage vaccination, and doesnt forbid abortion before 17 weeks gestation, with even more leeway if the health of the mother is in jeopardy or if there are life-threatening fetal abnormalities. 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. U.S. Pushes Back Against Military Vaccine Mandate Lawsuit . This disparity of treatment between medical and religious exemptions was constitutionally prohibited,OConnor said: As a brief preview, the vaccine mandate fails strict scrutiny. Members of the U.S. military who haven't been vaccinated against COVID-19 are starting to face the consequences. More than 1 million Americans have died from COVID-19 since the virus began spreading in December 2019, and the U.S. has recorded around 89 million cases. Ross said such questions were speculative and not at issue in the case before the court. Just because of the just incredibly political nature of, of all of it, from the virus to the vaccine to the mandates, Marshall Griffin, a retired Coast Guard judge advocate who now practices privately, told Military Times on Monday. FILE - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022. They had been told to get certain vaccines or other things without even be notified of a religious objection.. 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. They argue that their. While vials contain the same formula, some have made the argument that because providers are still giving the emergency-use Pfizer version, no one can be compelled to get vaccinated until the Comirnaty-labeled vials are in circulation. Just three days later, he issued a far more sweeping order granting 4,095 service members a religious exemption from the COVID vaccine. Air Force officers, Secret Service agent among those challenging 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. Mike Barry:No, really, I mean, this is happening across the entire Department of Defense. Judge grants relief to Navy SEALs who refused coronavirus vaccine, sued Other plaintiffs focus not on the abortion issue, but on several Bible passages that refer to the body as a temple. The Navy began issuing guidance to sailors earlier this month. Pentagon: Judge's halt of vaccine mandate for - Stars and Stripes Dr. Lee Merritt, a self-described Navy surgeon, stated during an . CBC News reached out multiple times to Galati, who is listed as the spokesperson for the lawsuit in a press release issued by Vaccine Choice Canada. Well, what if somebodys not really sincere? Read Next: The Navy's Top Enlisted Sailor Is Ready for You to Ask Him Anything. It also allows them to restrict sailors' movement "in order to comply with host nation quarantine regulations.". The Pentagon directed all the services to "formally rescind any policies, directives, and guidance implementing those vaccination mandates as soon as possible, if they have not already done so," according to a Friday press release. Theres a case to be made for turning these lawsuits into class action matters, Staver said, so that individual service members dont have to sue or just another case. 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. [Many] didnt even know that there was a religious exemption option, because they had never been informed of it, Staver said. 1:51:01 Awkward Andrea Mitchell lectures MSNBC reporter about using term "pro-life" 2:09:32 Baby "chop shop" FOIA lawsuit. COVID vaccine mandate lawsuit: Air Force officers argue shots are And to say, basically, no, you will do this because we said so and if you dont, were gonna kick you out. The Air Force number is probably in the same ballpark. The Army reported about 1,300 religious requests, none of which have been approved, as well as six medical exemptions. Commercial airlines has said, you know what, were gonna lift the mask mandate. Then in April, the WHO warned that. Produced by Will Reid , Rob Szypko . And youll see headline after headline talking about the recruiting and retention woes that plague our military right now. Court Delivers Win to Military Members Denied Religious Exemptions From Mike Barry:It would be everyone who is requested and been denied a religious accommodation from the vaccine mandates, specifically the COVID vaccine mandate. Peter Hill: Stats shown illness up in the military after COVID vaccine I mean, this is quickly becoming a national security issue for our nation. On Tuesday, a federal judge granted an injunction against discipline of an Air Force officer whose religious exemption had been denied. When I meet my maker, Im going to be held responsible for the decisions Ive made, and Id much rather go to prison, Stapanon testified in March. Need help accessing the FCC Public File due to a disability? And really, the greatest harm here is not just to our members of the military who are suffering under this, but its actually to our nation. The military across the board is discriminating discriminating against people of faith. 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. We are hemorrhaging people like crazy, and were having a really hard time recruiting capable people to join our military. When they inquired about seeking religious accommodation for the vaccine, the Navy informed many of them that they could face court-martial or involuntary separation if they refused to take the vaccine. While it allowed service members to apply for religious exemptions to the mandate, it has not granted a single one. DoD, for its part, settled its own policy with a memo from Assistant Defense Secretary for Health Affairs Terry Adirim last fall. Attorney General O'Connor Sues Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for The decision sets the stage for a future trial or, possibly, the case winding its way up to the Supreme Court. 2:41 . The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), it doesnt, the sincerity issue is what everybody seems to be concerned with, right? The Navy granted another 500 administrative exemptions, including temporary waivers for sailors planning to leave the service or in the middle of a permanent change-of-station move, for example. And they have different ranks, different different job responsibilities in the Air Force, a number of them are actually pilots in the Air Force. Service members file lawsuit over Pentagon's coronavirus vaccine Biden admin still pushing COVID vaccine mandate for military: It's From this foundation they make studied and reasonable decisions about what is good and what is not good or may not be good for their bodies.. Marine Corps Exceeds 1,000 COVID-19 Vaccine Separations, Navy at 469 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. Still, the organization said Covaxin is still a safe and effective product. Quite the contrary, they view life whether their own or that of their fellow servicemembers as sacred and deserving protection.. It was just a bunch of window dressing, on what was really a foregone conclusion of 100% of religious exemption requests were going to be disapproved, Berry said. And the way that they are accomplishing their compelling interest is the least restrictive means on the persons religious beliefs. 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There is no military exclusion from our Constitution. T he MAGA medical group that spent the pandemic pushing horse paste and malaria meds as quack COVID cures has a new crusade: suing the Pentagon to stop its vaccine mandate. Military members opposed to vaccines seek legal help | wusa9.com The service members who filed the lawsuit represent more than 350 collective years of military service, and more than 100 combat deployments. Based on his Roman Catholic Christian faith and absolute opposition to abortion, he cannot accept a vaccine that has been manufactured, or whose efficacy has been tested and proved, using aborted fetal cells, the Florida lawsuit alleges, on behalf of a Coast Guard pilot. Lawyers for a group of Navy SEALS and other Navy personnel who refuse to be vaccinated for religious reasons told a 5th U.S. The latest class action targets the Air Forces religious accommodation process, arguing that process is set up in such a way that getting a religious exemption to the vaccine is almost impossible. 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. Assuming, maybe Im assuming too much. Here's the Army rule for vaccine refusals, which service leaders The group includes 14 men and two women. A federal judge in Cincinnati has expanded a temporary exemption to a Department of Defense COVID-19 vaccine mandate to cover thousands of service members in the U.S. Air Force and Space Force,. Johnson & Johnson uses cells replicated from a fetus aborted in 1985 to produce its vaccine, but those cells are filtered out from the final product. Hey you have the Friday night shift, right? Why is the DoD ignoring natural immunity when the CDC and other epidemiologists and medical experts have all generally agreed natural immunity is a real thing. 16Jan23 FAA's Feeble Lie Denying the Hack That Grounded ALL But there may be good reason for that. While the Jan. 3 victory applies only to the named naval personnel in the lawsuit and not to the entire vaccine mandate issued by the Department of Defense, for religious freedom advocates and faithful Americans, the victory is a breath of fresh air and a much-needed reminder that individuals who have selflessly committed themselves to the defense of the Constitution and its enshrined liberties are sometimes the very people whose rights need defending the most. More than 1.14 million out of the 1.4 million active military members have been fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to DoD data. 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. A group of lawsuit plaintiffs, including four Air Force officers and a Secret Service agent, have asked a federal court to block the Biden administration's coronavirus vaccination mandates,. 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. And well be back week after week.. 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. The government burdens religion when it put[s] substantial pressure on an adherent to modify his behavior and to violate his beliefs.. Jared Serbu: Mike, thanks for being here. While it allowed service members to apply for religious exemptions to the mandate, it has not granted a single one. 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. The Texas case has smaller aspirations purposely, Berry said. But it may not take a lawsuit for the issue to change the environment when it comes to mandatory vaccination. AFLDS has also pushed ivermectin and. The vaccine mandate divided Americans and has remained a contentious political issue. Total exemptions granted in the Air Force included about 1,500 temporary medical exemptions and 2,300 administrative waivers, which includes the nine religious approvals. That leaves around 14,400 airmen and guardians less protected in the COVID-19 pandemics third year. Subscribe on PodcastOne or Apple Podcasts. President Biden declared "the pandemic is over," yet is still pushing to discharge thousands of religious service members for their objections to taking the COVID-19 vaccine. The latest lawsuit challenging DoD's COVID-19 vaccine mandate says the Air Force's process makes religious accommodations almost impossible to get. death from COVID-19 vaccines administered after the declaration ends would be addressed in court under tort law unless the COVID-19 vaccines are added to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP; 42 U.S.C.
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