Roughly one-third of troops declining to take the Covid vaccine as of February. And earlier this month, the Pentagon reported that nearly 40 percent of Marines who had been offered the vaccine turned it down.
President Joe Biden said he has not ruled out requiring all U.S. troops to get the coronavirus vaccine after the shots win final clearance from federal regulators, but cautioned that such a decision would be a “tough call.”in an interview that aired Friday, in response to a question on whether he would mandate the vaccine for U.S. service members once it is fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
“I’m not saying I won’t. I think you’re going to see more and more of them getting it,” Biden said. “And I think it’s going to be a tough call as to whether or not they should be required to have to get it in the military, because you’re in such close proximity with other military personnel — whether you’re in a quarters, where you’re all sleeping, or whether you’re out in maneuvers.”
The comments from the commander in chief come as the Pentagon has sounded the alarm about service members refusing the vaccine in large numbers, with