Additionally, "promotion records will be corrected by the [Department of the Air Force] who will remove or redact all adverse actions related to vaccine refusal," according to a Friday press release. U.S. military is discharging service members who refuse to get (U.S. Navy) Two service members filed a class action lawsuit against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to halt a mandate that all troops receive the coronavirus vaccine and create an exemption. 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. Simply put, no actual fetal cells were used in the development of any of the COVID-19 vaccines the cells in question were replicated by scientists, in labs, from tissue harvested previously. For OConnor, the violation ofthe lawwas clear: Defendants have substantially burdened Plaintiffs religious beliefs. 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. The quickest vaccine ever developed was for mumps. 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 vaccine mandate divided Americans and has remained a contentious political issue. Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine was developed and cleared for emergency use in eight months a fact . The same day the Pentagon set the deadline for the services, several of the branches -- namely the Army and Air Force -- began issuing their guidance, which stated they would remove or correct adverse actions in records related to vaccine refusal. 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. Army brigade surgeon claims in lawsuit vaccines are made with 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. [Many] didnt even know that there was a religious exemption option, because they had never been informed of it, Staver said. That is especially true when the government imposes a choice between ones job and ones religious belief. The Marine Corps had fielded 3,500 religious waiver requests, granting three, in addition to about 250 medical waivers and 400 other administrative approvals. The lawsuit filed by Air Force members and other federal employees claims that "the US Constitution and numerous federal laws make it unlawful to compel persons to be vaccinated." The plaintiffs. And I have yet to hear of a single flight being canceled because there was a COVID outbreak at 30,000 feet. Government lawyers argue the policy is in line with well-established principles of judicial noninterference with core military decision making, in their briefs. To date, no members of the Army or Space Force have received a religious exemption, though nine airmen and three Marines have been approved. In January of last year, a federal judge in Texas barred the Navy from taking any action against the Navy plaintiffs for being unvaccinated. Military Grants Few Coronavirus Vaccine Exemptions as Deadlines Loom Air Force Officers Sue Over Vaccine Mandate Religious Exemption Denials The World Health Organization approved Covaxin for emergency use in late 2021, making it a viable option for airmen who object to the three main U.S. shots. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on Monday blocking the Defense Department from taking action against a group of 35 Navy sailors who had refused to get a coronavirus vaccine,. Assuming, maybe Im assuming too much. Produced by Will Reid , Rob Szypko . A federal appellate judge has dealt another blow to the military's coronavirus vaccine mandate by allowing a high-profile class-action lawsuit against the Air Force to move forward. And in some cases, according to some reports, its even more durable than the vaccine and you dont have to get boosters and things like that. FILE - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022. Eglin AFB officers part of federal court challenge to military COVID And both lawsuits include arguments that the plaintiffs prayed on the issue and came to the conclusion that vaccination would violate their principles. And youll see headline after headline talking about the recruiting and retention woes that plague our military right now. You can't sue Pfizer or Moderna if you have severe Covid vaccine side ), the Washington Post, and others. Court Delivers Win to Military Members Denied Religious Exemptions From Pentagon Vaccine Mandate, SCOTUS 101: Student Loans and Major Questions, Unpacking the Oral Arguments Against Bidens Student Loan Cancellation, Appeals Court Steals Show on ERA Amid Senate Panels Bid to Resurrect Dead Amendment, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments. 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. The "rule" and the ways it will be fought 1:43:40 How to fight the NFA and its unconstitutional rule about barrel lengths. But Im willing to do that. The latest lawsuit challenging DoD's COVID-19 vaccine mandate says the Air Force's process makes religious accommodations almost impossible to get. Mike Barry is senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit legal group that focuses on religious liberty issues. 26 Feb 2023 11:38:25 The latest data from the military show that roughly 30,000 active-duty service members remain unvaccinated against COVID-19, despite a Defense Department mandate issued in August and deadlines. The primary protest centers around fetal stem cells, which may or may not have originated with an aborted pregnancy. This piece originally appeared in The Daily Signal. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. Through much prayer and reflection, Plaintiffs have sought wisdom, understanding, and guidance on the proper decisions to make concerning these COVID-19 vaccines, and Plaintiffs have been convicted by the Holy Spirit that accepting any of the three currently available vaccines is against the teachings of Scripture and would be a sin, according to a Florida lawsuit first filed in late 2021, then amended on Feb. 7 with additional plaintiffs. It is not yet clear how the various services will handle pending lawsuits that sprang up in the years following the Pentagon's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Just three days later, he issued a far more sweeping order granting 4,095 service members a religious exemption from the COVID vaccine. Everyone who joins the military must receive a slate of several vaccines to enter, including chickenpox, rubella and hepatitis A. COVID-19 vaccine mandate for Air National Guard spurs Oklahoma lawsuit The first military COVID-19 vaccine mandate will take effect in November. US Military To Face COVID-19 Vaccine Lawsuit February 18, 2023 The question is, whats the bigger risk to readiness: Discharging skilled, expensively trained service members for refusing to get vaccinated, or allowing them to continue serving with the potential to become infected with COVID-19, experience serious illness and potentially long-lasting side effects? The Florida case also expands the arguments past the religious exemption process, citing a handful of other arguments made by COVID-19 vaccine detractors. 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. 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. U.S. Military Service Members with Natural Immunity File Lawsuit over Another plaintiff is fighting in court after trying to retire one alternative to vaccination the Air Force offered. Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. Still, the organization said Covaxin is still a safe and effective product. The suit was initially filed by a group of Navy SEALs but later expanded to include all vaccine-refusing sailors. U.S. Airmen file lawsuit fighting Biden COVID-19 vaccine mandate - WOWT And one of the reasons for that is if they if theyre between the ages of 17 and 23, and theyre not vaccinated, were not even willing to talk to them. And so theyre basically closing off an entire segment of society in a discriminatory manner. I know, off the top of my head, the number in the Navy is somewhere near 4,100. There are some notable caveats. More than 60 service members have joined lawsuits against the U.S. government, alleging that the military's process for awarding religious vaccine exemptions is a sham. Same thing on airplanes, right? The service branches must notify the Pentagon that they've made the changes no later than March 17. Theres yet another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the militarys COVID-19 vaccine mandate. DoD, for its part, settled its own policy with a memo from Assistant Defense Secretary for Health Affairs Terry Adirim last fall. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. About 97% of the Department of the Air Force is fully vaccinated, though a larger share of active duty airmen and guardians have gotten the jab compared to their Guard and Reserve counterparts. For the Texas case, its more likely those sailors will receive religious exemptions, but that they wont necessarily change the way the military mandates vaccines or reviews exemptions. The Florida filing also spends much more time on the biographies of the complainants. Most of the plaintiffs express some sort of Christian faith, though the vast majority of denominations have no formal ban on vaccination. The Pentagon has not provided any public updates or said when the formal policy will be issued. Two Service Members Sue Feds Over Military COVID Vaccine - Newsweek 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. Punishing SEALs for simply asking for a religious accommodation is purely vindictive and punitive. The Marine Corps confirmed to a California congressman that two of those Marines were preparing to leave the service, while another one is doing a Training With Industry assignment. Washington Technology Power Breakfast: Cyber Command planning intelligence center, TSP contractor promises more improvements, for other communicable diseases and infections, FOIA backlogs on the rise after record number of requests, Revived bills would alter feds payment obligations during shutdowns, federal first responders pensions, VA launches equity task force to address disparity in benefits decisions based on race, White House $1.6B COVID fraud plan gives federal watchdogs increased staffing, VA deputy secretary, leader on EHR rollout and customer experience, is stepping down. Right? Judge tosses lawsuit over military vaccination mandate | Coronavirus And what if this is political ideology masquerading as as religious piety? -- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. There was no indication when the judges would rule. Air Force officers, Secret Service agent among those challenging Other plaintiffs focus not on the abortion issue, but on several Bible passages that refer to the body as a temple. Religious freedom laws are set up to avoid a circumstance where the Navy, or the military or the government, is doing a faith test, to determine whether or not you really believe what youre supposed to believe, Griffin said. But although the Air Force has approved hundreds of medical and administrative exemptions, they have only approved a very small handful of religious exemptions and even the ones that theyve approved by their own admission, they are only for Air Force members who are basically already separating or are already on their way out. The group includes 14 men and two women. The plaintiffs argue that violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Theres yet another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the militarys COVID-19 vaccine mandate. But there may be good reason for that. 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. AFLDS has also pushed ivermectin and. They include the small risk of myocarditis, which has anecdotally occurred in 1,626 U.S. residents out of more than 200 million fully vaccinated, with the highest risk in men under 24. When you treat people who have a medical exemption for more favorably than you treat somebody who has a religious exemption, that is textbook discrimination, and thats whats happening. More than 60 service members have joined lawsuits against the U.S. government, alleging that the militarys process for awarding religious vaccine exemptions is a sham. The chief of Irans nuclear program, Mohammad Eslami, acknowledged the findings of the IAEA report. And they have different ranks, different different job responsibilities in the Air Force, a number of them are actually pilots in the Air Force. Similar suits have been brought throughout the country by service members across the military branches.