The Pentagon, the United States Department of Defense and its leadership, outlines punishments for civilian employees if they fail to get vaccinated. With just over a month until the deadline for civilian employees to be completely vaccinated, it has outlined its enforcement and disciplinary processes for the Covid-19 vaccination obligation. These enforcement procedures could begin as early as November 22, the vaccination deadline.
Civilian employees who refuse to be vaccinated will face an escalating sequence of punishments, including five days of education and counseling, 14 days of unpaid suspension, and finally termination “for failing to follow a direct order,” according to the directive, which was circulated on Monday. Employees can get vaccinated during work hours, and if they have an adverse reaction, they can take two days of administrative leave after each dosage.
Sen. James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican and leading member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is urging Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin to suspend the military’s vaccine mandate. In contrast to what Pentagon officials have claimed, he believes the mandate will hurt military readiness.
The military has a vaccination rate of 96.7 percent among active-duty employees, including fully and partially vaccinated employees. The military is far ahead of the overall population, which has a vaccination rate of 78.4 percent. Vaccination deadlines have been established by each provider. Out of a total force of 1.35 million active-duty employees, around 44,700 are still unvaccinated.