United States Air Force Fires 27 Members For Refusing Vaccination Against COVID-19

US Air Force illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Airman 1st Class Melissa Copeland)

JAKARTA - The United States Air Force announced the dismissal of 27 of its service members for refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first active-duty soldier believed to have been discharged for refusing a vaccine.

The Pentagon announced a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine for all service members last August. Since then, most active duty troops have received at least one dose.

Ann Stefanek, a spokeswoman for the Air Force, said troops were given the opportunity to explain why they refused to be vaccinated, but none of them were granted an exception.

Meanwhile, about 97 percent of Air Force personnel are vaccinated against the virus, a much higher number than the general United States population. The Air and Space Force has approximately 326.000 active duty personnel.

Citing The Guardian, Stefanek said the Air Force gave its troops until November 2 to get a vaccine and thousands refused or sought exemptions.

She said they were all in their first military service, so they were younger and lower-ranking personnel. And while the air force doesn't disclose the type of dismissal a service member obtains, legislation running through Congress restricts the military from granting troops in cases of vaccine refusal an honorable discharge or general dismissal under honorable conditions.

According to the latest air force data, more than 1.000 airmen resisted fire and more than 4.700 sought religious exemption. None of the 27 airmen requested any type of exemption, medical, administrative or religious, Stefanek said.

Several officials from other services said they believed that so far only the Air Force was in the process and laying off people for vaccine refusal.

As a result, they were officially removed from service for failing to comply with orders. Stefanek said it was also possible that some had other breaches in their records, but all had vaccine refusal as an element of their release.

It is not uncommon for members of the military to be removed from service for disobeying orders. In comparison, Stefanek said that in the first three quarters of 2021, some 1.800 pilots were laid off for failing to follow orders.

To note, members of the Navy and Marine Corps have until November 28 to get the vaccine and their reservists have until December 28.

Active-duty Army soldiers have until next Wednesday and National Guard and reservist members have the most time to be vaccinated, with a deadline of June 30, 2022.

As of December 10, the Pentagon said 96.4 percent of active duty members had received at least one shot. However, that number drops to around 74 percent, when guards and reserves are included. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 72 percent of the U.S. population 18 and older has taken at least one dose.