More than 200 Marines separated for refusing COVID-19 vaccine
206 Marines have been separated for refusing to comply with the Pentagon's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, according to a Marine Corps spokesperson.
CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — 206 Marines have been separated for refusing to comply with the Pentagon's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, according to a Marine Corps spokesperson.
The fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law on Monday, requires that service members who are discharged for not complying with the mandate receive at least a general discharge.
The deadline for active-duty Marines to be vaccinated was Nov. 28, and the deadline for reservists to comply was Dec. 28.
A total of 27 airmen have been forced out of the Air Force. The Army and Navy are waiting until January to begin formal separations.
To date, 95 percent of all active-duty Marines are at least partially vaccinated, while 94 percent are fully vaccinated.
95 percent of Air and Space Force members are inoculated, 98 percent of Army members, 99 percent of Navy members and, as of Dec. 1, 95 percent of those in the Coast Guard are vaccinated against COVID-19.
About 35,000 troops remain unvaccinated, with thousands asking for religious exemptions.