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U.S. soldiers administer COVD-19 vaccines at Fort Hood, Texas, Feb. 20, 2021. (U.S. Army photo\/Staff Sgt. Daniel Herman)<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
Davis Winkie
\nArmy Times<\/p>\n
The Army has directed commands to prepare to administer\u00a0mandatory COVID-19 vaccines<\/a>\u00a0as early as Sept. 1, pending full Food and Drug Administration licensure, Army Times has learned.<\/p>\n The directive came from an execute order sent to the force by Department of the Army Headquarters.<\/p>\n Army Times obtained a portion of a recent update to HQDA EXORD 225-21, COVID-19 Steady State Operations.<\/p>\n \u201cCommanders will continue COVID-19 vaccination operations and prepare for a directive to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for service members [on or around] 01 September 2021, pending full FDA licensure,\u201d the order said. \u201cCommands will be prepared to provide a backbrief on servicemember vaccination status and way ahead for completion once the vaccine is mandated.\u201d<\/p>\n EXORDS are utilized when the president directs the defense secretary to execute a military operation.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a matter of policy we do not comment on leaked documents. The vaccine continues to be voluntary,\u201d said Maj. Jackie Wren, an Army spokesperson. \u201cIf we are directed by DoD to change our posture, we are prepared to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pentagon has not put out any guidance to the services to prepare for a mandatory vaccine roll-out in September, a defense official separately told Army Times.<\/p>\n It was not immediately clear whether the vaccines would even be approved in time for a Sept. 1 mandatory rollout. And an FDA spokesperson did not have an exact timeline available.<\/p>\n The \u201dtimelines for vaccine approval may vary depending on a number of factors, but as Pfizer\u00a0<\/a>and Moderna announced, they have initiated rolling submissions of their biologics license applications for their COVID-19 vaccines,\u201d said Alison Hunt, an FDA spokesperson. \u201cAs a general matter, FDA cannot comment on particular applications.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the companies finish collecting biologics license application data on their vaccines, the FDA will take 60 days to review the applications for full approval, in accordance with the\u00a0agency\u2019s guidelines<\/a>\u00a0for priority review.<\/p>\n The Army currently has around\u00a070 percent<\/a> of its force vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, director of the Defense Health Agency.<\/p>\n However, demand for the vaccine has fallen off in recent months across the military, roughly following a similar drop in demand among the American people.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Veterans Affairs administration<\/a>\u00a0is currently weighing a plan to require all VA staffers to receive the vaccine, amid growing worry worldwide about the more severe Delta variant of the virus.<\/p>\n