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The Marine Corps has hit its deadline for active duty members to be fully vaccinated, with thousands still unvaccinated and no requests for religious accommodation approved.
The service announced Monday that the deadline was reached on Sunday, November 28, with about 95 percent of its active duty force having gotten at least one dose, but about five percent unvaccinated.
Among about 180,000 active duty members, that amounts to approximately 9,000 or more active duty Marines who are not fully vaccinated as required by the Biden administration’s mandate for all service members in August.
The Marine Corps warned in October that Marines who do not comply with the mandate will be separated. The Navy secretary has said they will not all be kicked out the day after the deadline, but it is unclear what happens next.
“We will be addressing each case on a case-by-case basis,” Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro told reporters last week, according to Task & Purpose. “We’re just not going to all kick them out on the day of the deadline itself.”
A concerning new report from the FDA shows a stark difference in mortality rates of vaccinated people.
He indicated the Navy, of which the Marine Corps is a component, would give Marines an opportunity to change their minds. He reportedly said:
We’re going to try find out what’s their problem and holdup in getting the vaccine, try to counsel them the best we can, offer them an opportunity to change their mind with regards to the vaccinations. Hopefully, they’ll get the vaccination at that point in time. And if they don’t, obviously, then they’re not going to be able to continue serving in the Marine Corps.