The US Army said it will 'immediately' start discharging those who don't comply with COVID vaccine mandate as omicron variant cases continue to surge.
WASHINGTON -- The Army said Wednesday it will immediately begin discharging soldiers who have refused to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine, putting more than 3,300 service members at risk of being thrown out soon.
According to data released by the Army last week, more than 3,300 soldiers have refused to get the vaccine. The Army has said that more than 3,000 soldiers have been issued official written reprimands, which suggests they are already identified in the disciplinary process, and some of them could be among the first to be discharged.
Roughly 97% of all Army soldiers have gotten at least one shot. More than 3,000 have requested medical or religious exemptions. "Army readiness depends on soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nation's wars," she said."Unvaccinated soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness. We will begin involuntary separation proceedings for Soldiers who refuse the vaccine order and are not pending a final decision on an exemption."
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