Pentagon lacks data on COVID vaccine status of DoD staff as Nov 22 deadline nears

Months after the US Department of Defense (DoD) mandated COVID-19 vaccination for its service members, the data regarding those still unvaccinated and those fully jabbed against the novel COVID-19 is still lacking, CNN reported. This comes ahead of the looming November 22 deadline for civilian federal government workers to get vaccinated. The jab status of hundreds of thousands of US DoD’s civilian employees and the active duty service members have not been revealed. Although, the US Department of Defense stated that inoculations among the service members have made significant progress over recent months with an estimated 90 per cent of fully or partially vaccinated with one dose among the workforce of more than 765,000. 

319,000 civilian staff 'fully vaccinated', claims US DoD

US department of defence site data reveals that an estimated 319,000 DoD civilians are fully vaccinated, while another 46,477 have been partially inoculated. This also includes individuals who were administered their shots via a DoD provider or at a vaccination centre and had later documented the status. US  Air Force has asked the civilian staff to get the shot as the  Nov. 22 deadline nears. It became the first service to issue such a warning to the service members, as it emphasized on the White House’s deadline for the federal employees. Mandating COVID-19 vaccine for all of the Defense Department's 700,000 staff has been the largest contingent in the US federal government, according to the US broadcasters. Pentagon is yet to issue the protocols and further steps on what happens if the civilian staff is not inoculated by the deadline set by the Biden administration. 

“To defend the nation and protect the American people, we need a healthy and ready total force,” the memo, signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and obtained by the US broadcasters stated.

The memo further read that the staff can take one of the three approved vaccines in the US in order to be compliant with the military and state’s directive. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, hailed the decision as he wrote in an online statement: “The Department of Defense’s decision to require COVID-19 vaccination by Nov. 22 for the Department’s civilian workforce will save lives and further protect communities across the United States from this deadly virus.” He added, “This guidance for civilian employees of the Department also builds on progress to protect U.S. service members from COVID-19 by making vaccination mandatory across the entire force. This is the right decision for our public health and our national security.”