Air Force denies more than 2,100 COVID-19 vaccine religious exemption requests
The Air Force has denied 2,130 requests for religious accommodations to the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and has not approved any, the service announced Tuesday.
Air Force and Space Force commands received more than 10,000 requests from airmen and guardians across the active-duty, National Guard and Reserve hoping to avoid the coronavirus shot.
More than 8,630 individuals are still awaiting the Air Force’s decision on their request, which is “individually reviewed by Religious Resolution Teams at the wing, garrison, major command and field command levels,” the
service said in a statement announcing the data.
The teams, which are made up of chaplains, medical providers, judge advocates and other subject matter experts, “make recommendations on determining the least restrictive means possible to accommodate a sincerely held belief without putting mission accomplishment at risk.”
Thousands of religious accommodation requests to the vaccine have been denied across the military services since Defense Secretary
Lloyd Austin in late August said the shot would be mandatory for all military personnel.
The
Navy on Wednesday said it has received 2,844 active-duty requests for religious accommodation for the vaccine mandate, none of which have been approved.
The Marine Corps and Army, meanwhile, have received some 3,100 and 1,700 requests, respectively, according to
The Associated Press.
The denials have caused frustration among service members and have even sparked a lawsuit by a group of Navy SEALs and sailors who claim the Defense Department has too high of standards for granting such exemptions.
A
group of 47 Republican lawmakers have backed that case, currently being heard in a Texas federal court.
The Air Force has denied 2,130 requests for religious accommodations to the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and has not approved any, the service announced Tuesday.Air Force and Space Force com…
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