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FILE – Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, left, next to CIA Director William Burns, testifies at a House Intelligence committee hearing on diversity and equity in the intelligence community on Oct. 27, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Thousands of intelligence officers could soon face dismissal for failing to comply with the U.S. government’s vaccine mandate, leading to concerns from Republican lawmakers about potentially hurting agencies considered critical to national security. Haines says she doesn’t anticipate the mandate affecting the mission of national security agencies. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin, File)<\/p><\/div>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Thousands of intelligence officers could soon face dismissal for failing to comply with the U.S. government\u2019s vaccine mandate, leading Republican lawmakers to raise concerns about removing employees from agencies critical to national security.<\/p>\n
Overall, the percentage of intelligence personnel who have been vaccinated is higher than for the American public \u2014 97% at the CIA, for instance. But there are lower percentages in some of the 18-agency intelligence community of approximately 100,000 people, according to Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah.<\/p>\n
Citing information that he said had been provided to the House Intelligence Committee but not released publicly, Stewart said several intelligence agencies had at least 20% of their workforce unvaccinated as of late October. In some agencies, as many as 40% are unvaccinated, Stewart said. He declined to identify the agencies because full information on vaccination rates was classified.<\/p>\n
While many people will likely still get vaccinated before the administration\u2019s Nov. 22 deadline for civilian workers, resistance to the mandate could leave major agencies responsible for national security without some personnel. Intelligence officers are particularly hard to replace due to the highly specialized work they do and the difficulties of completing security clearance checks.<\/p>\n
CIA Director William Burns disclosed publicly last week that 97% of the agency\u2019s officers have been vaccinated. The National Reconnaissance Office, which operates U.S. spy satellites, has more than 90% of its workforce vaccinated.<\/p>\n
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined several requests to provide figures for the intelligence community. The office also would not say what contingency plans are in place in case officers are taken off work due to not complying with the mandate.<\/p>\n
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines declined at a hearing last week to disclose what percentage of the workforce had been vaccinated, but said, \u201cwe are not anticipating that it is going to be an issue for mission.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vaccination rates provided by Stewart are mostly higher than those of the general U.S. population. About 70% of American adults are fully vaccinated and 80% have received at least one dose of a vaccine.<\/p>\n
Stewart called on the administration to approve more exemptions for people on medical, religious and other grounds, and delay any terminations of intelligence officers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy question is what\u2019s the impact on national security if we do that?\u201d Stewart said. \u201cYou\u2019re potentially firing thousands of people on the same day. And it\u2019s not like you put an ad on Craigslist and have people apply by Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee say they\u2019re confident that the vaccination mandate will not cause a problem for the intelligence community. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., said the agencies were doing \u201cquite well\u201d and that getting vaccinated was a sign of an employee\u2019s readiness.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf somebody is not willing to do what\u2019s necessary to protect their own health and the health of their unit, that actually calls into question their ability to effectively do the job,\u201d Crow said in an interview.<\/p>\n
President Joe Biden has issued several mandates to boost the vaccination rate in the U.S. affecting federal employees, contractors and health care workers. The White House has credited those mandates with driving up vaccination rates and reducing deaths from a pandemic that has killed more than 750,000 people in the U.S. and 5 million people worldwide.<\/p>\n
Federal regulators and independent health experts have certified that the available vaccines are safe. A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that from April to July, unvaccinated people\u00a0were 10 times more likely<\/a>\u00a0than vaccinated people to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die of COVID-19.<\/p>\n