US Air Force Discharges 27 Soldiers Who Refused COVID-19 Vaccination...

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The U.S. Air Force announced that it has discharged 27 soldiers who refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. These are the first soldiers to be discharged since the announcement in September that discharge measures would be taken against those refusing vaccination. It is expected that controversies will grow over issues such as decreased combat readiness and discharge regulations.

According to the Associated Press on the 13th (local time), Ann Stefanek, a spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force, stated at a press conference that "27 soldiers who refused the COVID-19 vaccination have been discharged, and these soldiers do not have long service years nor high ranks," adding, "None of them requested exemptions from the vaccine mandate for medical or religious reasons, and they were discharged for insubordination."

Earlier, the U.S. Department of Defense ordered all military personnel to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in September and instructed each branch to set its own mandatory vaccination deadline. Accordingly, the U.S. Air Force ordered mandatory vaccination for all personnel by the 2nd of last month, but even after the deadline, about 8,500 personnel had not been vaccinated, and it is known that more than 1,000 still refuse vaccination. Approximately 4,700 soldiers reportedly requested exemptions from the mandate for religious reasons.

By the third quarter of this year, about 1,800 soldiers had been discharged from the U.S. Air Force due to insubordination. However, there is controversy over which discharge regulations should apply to soldiers discharged for refusing vaccination, and the Air Force has not yet made a decision. According to the Associated Press, a related bill that has passed the House and is awaiting Senate approval stipulates that honorable or general discharge should be recognized in cases of vaccine refusal.

Meanwhile, as many soldiers still refuse vaccination, the U.S. Department of Defense has not achieved a 100% vaccination rate. According to the Associated Press, as of last week, the vaccination rate for at least one dose within the U.S. Air Force was identified as over 97%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.