US Army Has Approved Only 20 Permanent Religious COVID-19 Vaccine Exemptions

The U.S. Army announced on July 21 that it has approved just 20 permanent religious exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine after having received 8,000 requests so far.

Out of the 8,000 applications for a permanent religious exemption, a total of 1,465 have been reviewed by the Army. Just 20 have been approved—equivalent to an approval rate of about 1.37 percent.

All 20 who had their applications approved were in the active Army. None from the Army National Guard or Army Reserve have been able to obtain an approved permanent religious exemption.

This leaves 6,535 applications for a permanent religious exemption yet to be reviewed by the service.

Meanwhile, the Army has reviewed 1,045 permanent medical exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine, out of 1,100 requests. It has approved just 34 requests, which is an approval rate of about 3.25 percent.

“Army officials review each request on an individual basis to determine whether an exemption is appropriate,” the Army stated in its announcement. “Medical requests are reviewed primarily by healthcare providers, while religious accommodation requests include interviews with the Soldier’s chaplain, recommendations from the chain of command, as well as a public health and a legal review.”

It adds: “All Soldiers who refuse the order to be vaccinated without an approved or pending exemption request are subject to certain adverse administrative actions, including flags, bars to continued service, and official reprimands.

“Soldiers who continue to refuse the vaccination order without an approved or pending exemption may also be subject to additional adverse administrative action, including separation.”

According to the Army’s statistics, those who are fully vaccinated comprise 96 percent of the active Army, 88 percent of the Army National Guard, and 90 percent of the Army Reserve.

Over 17,000 COVID-19 Vaccine Refusals

More than 17,000 troops in the Army have refused to take a vaccine against COVID-19, data

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