The service branches must notify the Pentagon that they've made the changes no later than March 17. It was just a bunch of window dressing, on what was really a foregone conclusion of 100% of religious exemption requests were going to be disapproved, Berry said. The only difference is really is that each branch of the military has their own internal regulations and policies for how they adjudicate these things. This whole thing is really unprecedented, right? "This guidance is a promise of what the Air Force is saying it will do," Bruns told Military.com. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), it doesnt, the sincerity issue is what everybody seems to be concerned with, right? A group of lawsuit plaintiffs, including four Air Force officers and a Secret Service agent, have asked a federal court to block the Biden administration's coronavirus vaccination mandates,. Adam Rawnsley. While it allowed service members to apply for religious exemptions to the mandate, it has not granted a single one. For a population accustomed to having very little power over their personal decisions where they live, what they wear, how they cut their hair, how much they weigh the opportunity to have some control over their medical decisions is an enormous discovery. And to say, basically, no, you will do this because we said so and if you dont, were gonna kick you out. This piece originally appeared in The Daily Signal. That means that this is quickly becoming a national security concern. The next stop in the litigation is likely to be an appeal by the Department of Defense and the Biden administration to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The law says that sincerely held religious beliefs are to be taken at face value. Pope Francis has called vaccination against COVID-19 a moral obligation and an act of love., Frequently people let themselves be influenced by the ideology of the moment, often bolstered by baseless information or poorly documented facts, he said in January, adding that vaccines are not a magical means of healing, yet surely they represent, in addition to other treatments that need to be developed, the most reasonable solution for the prevention of the disease.. Jared Serbu: Last thing, theres a lot of these vaccine cases, even just military vaccine cases floating around in various district courts and circuits the moment. Vaccine refusers often state that the use of fetal cell lines in the creation of the shots conflicts with their views on abortion. 26 Feb 2023 11:38:25 On Feb. 17, the service lifted its policy of banning unvaccinated sailors from deploying. Our military, I mean, you can open any news feed that you want. 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Circuit Court of Appeals panel that federal court injunctions against the mandate are still needed, in part because decisions on deployments and assignments can still be made based on vaccination status. Produced by Will Reid , Rob Szypko . Im very confident that this case going to the Supreme Court, Mat Staver whose Liberty Counsel represents plaintiffs in the Florida case told Military Times on Tuesday. Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. Punishing SEALs for simply asking for a religious accommodation is purely vindictive and punitive. Thomas Bruns, a Cincinnati-based attorney with Bruns, Connell, Vollmar & Armstrong representing the service members, told Military.com on Monday that the service members in that case are promised full relief from any harms caused by the mandate. Hey you have the Friday night shift, right? Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek declined to comment on ongoing litigation and how it may affect how the service handles religious accommodation requests. Theres a case to be made for turning these lawsuits into class action matters, Staver said, so that individual service members dont have to sue or just another case. And one of the reasons for that is if they if theyre between the ages of 17 and 23, and theyre not vaccinated, were not even willing to talk to them. And so theyre basically closing off an entire segment of society in a discriminatory manner. The same day the Pentagon set the deadline for the services, several of the branches -- namely the Army and Air Force -- began issuing their guidance, which stated they would remove or correct adverse actions in records related to vaccine refusal. While vials contain the same formula, some have made the argument that because providers are still giving the emergency-use Pfizer version, no one can be compelled to get vaccinated until the Comirnaty-labeled vials are in circulation. Night shifts arent popular, especially on Friday night, and things like that. On Tuesday, a federal judge granted an injunction against discipline of an Air Force officer whose religious exemption had been denied. Here, Plaintiffs must decide whether to lose their livelihoods or violate sincerely held religious beliefs. The question is, whats the bigger risk to readiness: Discharging skilled, expensively trained service members for refusing to get vaccinated, or allowing them to continue serving with the potential to become infected with COVID-19, experience serious illness and potentially long-lasting side effects? This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. In December, the Air Force announced it had discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID . And really, the greatest harm here is not just to our members of the military who are suffering under this, but its actually to our nation. "It hasn't done it yet. Jared Serbu: I want to go back to what you said earlier about the process being a sham, because I want to try and draw how much of an issue that actually is, in these cases. In one of many ongoing federal lawsuits challenging COVID-19 vaccine mandates across the country, Judge Reed O'Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a group . Pfizer Inc wants to intervene in a Texas federal lawsuit seeking information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration used in licensing the company's COVID-19 vaccine, a litigation move that . And lets start by talking a bit about your clients, where they are in the Air Force vaccine exemption process and what led you to file the suit? Theyre not following federal law. The Army reported about 1,300 religious requests, none of which have been approved, as well as six medical exemptions. NEW ORLEANS Federal appeals court judges closely questioned a Biden administration attorney Monday on the consequences military personnel might face for refusing COVID-19 vaccinations, even though Bidens vaccine mandate for military personnel has been rescinded. And in one instance, I saw one of the head people for recruiting in the military said, Were having a really hard time identifying, basically people who are eligible to serve in the military. Because of those peoples religious beliefs and religious convictions. The Florida case, in a 187-page complaint, takes measures much further. Nearly 1,500 more people are exempt for medical or administrative reasons, such as severe allergic reactions or upcoming retirement. So everywhere else in society has been able to figure this out, but our military hasnt because they take such an iron fisted, draconian approach to everything. Sixty-seven percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. A U.S. Navy officer is suing the leaders of the Defense Department and the Navy because they have denied his waiver requests to exempt him from getting the mandated COVID-19 vaccine. Researchers cultivate these cells for generations, using their derivatives to create or test all manner of pharmaceutical products. The soldier and Marine also want their case escalated into a class action lawsuit to take in other military personnel plus Department of Defense contractors. Another plaintiff is fighting in court after trying to retire one alternative to vaccination the Air Force offered. "This vaccine mandate is unlawful and does not reflect the Land of the Free," said General O'Connor. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.). Their lawyers have called a sham with applications being categorically denied., The Defense Department denied the process was onerous and said the Navy has a compelling interest in requiring vaccinations for personnel who often operate for long periods in confined spaces that are ripe breeding grounds for respiratory illnesses.. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members. Each of those shots also involves cell tissue derived from fetuses, as does one version of the rabies vaccine. And yet they say, you know what, we now believe that its okay, for our employees to not be vaccinated, its okay for our customers to not be vaccinated. Lt. Col. Edward Stapanon, a Catholic instructor pilot at the 435th Fighter Training Squadron in Texas, said he requested retirement twice but was turned down because he hasnt finished out an extension of his active duty service commitment that ends in 2024. Theyre not following their own regulations. They include the small risk of myocarditis, which has anecdotally occurred in 1,626 U.S. residents out of more than 200 million fully vaccinated, with the highest risk in men under 24. But it may not take a lawsuit for the issue to change the environment when it comes to mandatory vaccination. And thats why this is a sham.Jared Serbu: The Air Force case is a putative class action. I think that a process that is not a sham looks a little bit something like the military regardless of what branch were talking about, takes an honest look and says okay, what is this persons job or their function? All of the military services are currently reworking their policies to adjust separation and promotion records for service members who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, after the Pentagon. Ross said such questions were speculative and not at issue in the case before the court. Ryan Bruce, a Marine Corps spokesman, told Military.com. Just because the plaintiffs identify as a member of one religion or another doesnt mean they need to follow every tradition, according to Griffin, the former Coast Guard lawyer, nor would they need to justify why they are religiously opposed to the COVID-19 vaccine in particular. Members of the U.S. military who haven't been vaccinated against COVID-19 are starting to face the consequences. Several lawsuits have been filed by sailors opposing the mandate and challenging the Navy's approach to reviewing the religious exemption requests. Its really the same thing in the military context with this vaccine, where theyre saying, Look, teleworking or, doing a lot of these other measures, right, social distancing, masking, testing, whatever the case might be. Everyone who joins the military must receive a slate of several vaccines to enter, including chickenpox, rubella and hepatitis A. The Supreme Court is reviewing a legal shield that tech companies have long relied on to avoid liability for content on their platforms. In his order, OConnor granted an injunction against the Biden administration and the Department of Defense, preventing them from enforcing the vaccine mandate against any of the named service members who had applied for a religious exemption. The three coronavirus vaccines currently available in the United Statesthe Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and, as of Saturday, the Johnson & Johnson versionsare approved on "emergency use. By The Associated Press WASHINGTON A bill to rescind the Covid-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense passed the House on. All rights reserved. Both cases are in a wait-and-see phase, where judges have granted injunctions against any discipline for vaccine refusal while the government responds to requests for information. A timeline of when vaccines are due was left up to the . Given the prevailing public health guidelines and the state of the virus, there is currently no intention to require universal vaccination of all service members, Ross said. More than 800 unvaccinated service members have been ousted from the Air Force so far. COVID-19 vaccines are proven to be very safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. I know, off the top of my head, the number in the Navy is somewhere near 4,100. President Biden declared "the pandemic is over," yet is still pushing to discharge thousands of religious service members for their objections to taking the COVID-19 vaccine. A dozen U.S. Air Force officers have filed a lawsuit . Like the other service branches, the Navy required all active-duty service members to be fully vaccinated before Nov. 28 or risk a full range of disciplinary action. All of the military services have released vaccine refusal policies, none of them involving judicial or non-judicial charges for simply staying unvaccinated. About 97% of the Department of the Air Force is fully vaccinated, though a larger share of active duty airmen and guardians have gotten the jab compared to their Guard and Reserve counterparts. The Marine Corps had fielded 3,500 religious waiver requests, granting three, in addition to about 250 medical waivers and 400 other administrative approvals. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Navy on Wednesday announced it had granted one waiver to a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, a non-drilling service member, who would have to get vaccinated should he or she come on orders. I think one of the militarys concerns is whats the limiting principle here? The government has since filed a notice that it plans to appeal the decision. Military service members have. Mike Barry:Well, I mean, thats the beauty of the way that the law works, right? More than a dozen unidentified U.S. service members have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Defense Department's COVID-19 vaccine order, saying they have natural immunity from. 3 min read POINT PLEASANT, NJ A U.S. Marine from Point Pleasant who was discharged. Quite the contrary, they view life whether their own or that of their fellow servicemembers as sacred and deserving protection.. Right? 2:41 . Mike Barry: Probably not at the Supreme Court level. The latest data from the military show that roughly 30,000 active-duty service members remain unvaccinated against COVID-19, despite a Defense Department mandate issued in August and deadlines. Similar to the Navy, the Marine Corps is no longer stopping unvaccinated Marines from deployments. And now people will be able to take the analysis Supreme Court used and say, Okay, the way that they analyzed this issue, that might give us some indication of how they would analyze other issues, right. -- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. More than 8,400 troops were forced out of the military for refusing to obey a lawful order when they declined to get the vaccine. More than 60 service members have joined lawsuits against the U.S. government, alleging that the militarys process for awarding religious vaccine exemptions is a sham. Their objections to the vaccine fall into one of four categories, according to their complaint, including opposition to abortion and the use of fetal cell lines in pharmaceutical development, belief that body modification violates their religious principles, direct, divine instruction not to receive the vaccine, or declining to inject trace amounts of animal cells into ones body.. Starbucks, for example, doesnt have a vaccine requirement. While the Jan. 3 victory applies only to the named naval personnel in the lawsuit and not to the entire vaccine mandate issued by the Department of Defense, for religious freedom advocates and faithful Americans, the victory is a breath of fresh air and a much-needed reminder that individuals who have selflessly committed themselves to the defense of the Constitution and its enshrined liberties are sometimes the very people whose rights need defending the most. Tom Temin is host of the Federal Drive and has been providing insight on federal technology and management issues for more than 30 years. As part of the exemption process, service members are required to meet with a chaplain to work through their concerns. The US military has approved religious exemptions to its Covid-19 vaccine mandate for 15 service members out of approximately 16,000 requests, according to the latest data from the services. And at least in the Starbucks is that Ive been in recently where theyve been packed in like sardines. This disparity of treatment between medical and religious exemptions was constitutionally prohibited,OConnor said: As a brief preview, the vaccine mandate fails strict scrutiny. Law firms Latham & Watkins LLP Follow Siri & Glimstad LLP (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, facing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking a vast trove of data. While it allowed service members to apply for religious exemptions to the mandate, it has not granted a single one. And theyre discriminating against people in the military. Lawmakers expressed frustration with the news . The Justice Department intends to appeal the Texas ruling, while a temporary injunction in the Florida case expires Friday. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act sets a low bar for proving ones religious beliefs, in that if someone states them, they are assumed to be sincere. Still, the organization said Covaxin is still a safe and effective product. Were pleased that the court has acted to protect our brave warriors before more damage is done to our national security. The story seems pretty similar to whats going on with these airmen. Well, the good news is the law is set up so that the government actually can win those cases, when all they have to do is demonstrate that they have a compelling interest. Theres been a lot of great saints that have gone to prison, so Im willing to do that..