Thousands in US military avoiding COVID-19 vaccine

U.S. service members are refusing or putting off the COVID-19 vaccine by the thousands, as frustrated commanders scramble to knock down internet rumors and find the right pitch that will persuade troops to get the shot. "Many of them believe that they don't need it, that they feel they've had COVID or friends have had COVID and it wasn't bad, or they're very worried about the vaccine itself. They're afraid it will have side effects or that it just it was created too quickly and they don't know what it will do," said Lolita Baldor, an Associated Press National Security Reporter.

On Wednesday Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeff Taliaferro, vice director of operations for the Joint Staff, told Congress that very early data suggests that just up to two-thirds of the service members offered the vaccine have accepted. Baldor said the Pentagon, for weeks, insisted it did not know how many troops were declining the vaccine, and Wednesday's hearing provided few details on their early data.

"Military leaders that I talked to across the country are saying that they've seen as little as one-third of their members agreeing to take the vaccine. Other units range between 50 and 70 percent," Baldor said.

Service leaders have vigorously campaigned for the vaccine. They have held town halls, written messages to the force, distributed scientific data, posted videos, and even put out photos of leaders getting vaccinated. Military leaders searching for answers believe they have identified one potential convincer: an imminent deployment. Navy sailors on ships heading out to sea last week, for example, were choosing to take the shot at rates exceeding 80% to 90%.

"They just have this urgent plea: 'Please take the vaccine.' What they're finding is it isn't always working. And in particular, they're finding that the service members don't really want to listen perhaps to the senior leaders and instead, the influencers more likely these days are their own peers, that if they're on a team and everyone on the team is getting it, they'll get it," Baldor said.

The variations in vaccine acceptance rates across individual military services make it harder for leaders to identify which arguments for the vaccine are most persuasive. The Food and Drug Administration has allowed emergency use of the vaccine, so it's voluntary. But Defense Department officials say they hope that soon may change.