The United States wants to make sure all its military personnel are protected against COVID-19.
Starting mid-September, the U.S. will start requiring all combat personnel to be immunized with a COVID-19 vaccine.
Pentagon officials anticipate the government to grant full regulatory clearance of a vaccine by next month.
After setting new pandemic policies for federal workers, U.S. President Joe Biden, in June, directed defense officials to assess how and when the military would make it mandatory for around 750,000 members of the armed forces who have yet to get the shot to be administered with the vaccine, Reuters reported.
In an internal correspondence sent to all military personnel, top U.S. defense officials said the vaccine is an important and necessary requirement to maintain combat readiness.
Without a formal authorization, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he needs a waiver from the President to make the vaccines compulsory.
Biden has already clarified that he supports efforts to make vaccines a requirement. In a statement, the U.S. commander in chief said that he supports the defense secretary's message to the armed forces and the proposal to include the Pfizer vaccine to the list of required treatments for service personnel not later than the middle of next month.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has stated he hopes regulators could start giving final approval for the vaccines before September.
Austin has further disclosed that, if COVID-19 infection rates continue to increase, he won't hesitate to act immediately or approve a different set of action to Biden, Reuters said.
The Pentagon said around 50% of the U.S. military has been fully inoculated. The U.S. Air Force (USAF) said more than 65% of its forces on active duty have at least been partially vaccinated.
The Navy, for its part, reported the highest inoculation figures, with almost 75% of all active duty and reserve forces getting at least one dose, according to The Associated Press.
Pentagon officials said that, once the vaccine is granted full approval and becomes a requirement, refusal to be immunized can be punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), AP added.
