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The military has pursued vaccinating the force against COVID-19 over recent months. However, taking the shot has remained voluntary, and those who refuse cannot be reprimanded.<\/p>\n
The vaccine is classified by the FDA as Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), and by law cannot be made mandatory for use on military members.<\/p>\n
The reason? The anthrax debacle of the late ’90s. The available FDA approved anthrax vaccine was intended for people exposed to infected animals who might contract the disease through skin contact.<\/p>\n
But the military was concerned with weaponized anthrax that would be air-delivered. The vaccine was not tested for that kind of protection.<\/p>\n
The lone anthrax vaccine producer, Michigan Biologic Products Institute, was cited by the FDA for improper storage and labeling of the vaccine. The company, then known as BioPort Corp., faced investigations, reviews and criticism over manufacturing problems.<\/p>\n
The potential Gulf War Illness connection, and the problems at BioPort prompted congressional and executive actions that, in 1998, required troops be given a choice in whether or not to take experimental drugs or procedures.<\/p>\n
The COVID-19 vaccine cannot be made mandatory for the troops without either the FDA’s official license, or Presidential Executive Order.<\/p>\n
Fortunately we have a decisive President. Just not the one in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n
BY ELLEN MITCHELL<\/strong><\/p>\n President Biden has not dismissed requiring all U.S. service members to get a COVID-19 vaccine once the shot is fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but says the decision is a \u201ctough call.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know. I\u2019m going to leave that to the military,\u201d Biden told NBC News’s Craig Melvin in an interview broadcast Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not saying I won\u2019t. I think you\u2019re going to see more and more of them getting it. And I think it\u2019s 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\u2019re in such close proximity with other military personnel.\u201d<\/p>\n Roughly 780,000 service members, or close to one-third of the total force, are partially or fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to the latest Department of Defense numbers.<\/p>\n All Pentagon personnel and their beneficiaries are now eligible to receive a vaccine, in line with the rest of the U.S. population, but thousands have chosen to forgo the shot. Because the vaccines were approved under the FDA’s emergency-use authorization, military officials can\u2019t mandate the inoculation.<\/p>\n Adding to the headache, the Pentagon does not track how many military members reject the vaccine, making it difficult to pinpoint why troops, sailors and airmen are holding off.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Several valid concerns come to my mind. Here’s one.<\/p>\n Remember BioPort Corp, the Anthrax vaccine source? The corporation has since become Emergent BioSolutions, and is subcontracted to provide the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine<\/strong>. <\/p>\n The Food and Drug Administration released a 13 page report<\/a> detailing the findings from its inspection of the Emergent BioScience’s factory.<\/p>\n The FDA inspection of the sub found the facility was dirty, didn\u2019t follow proper manufacturing procedures and had poorly trained staff, resulting in contamination of material going into a batch of shots.<\/p>\n Sign me up for none of that.<\/p>\n