4 Air Force cadets could not graduate resulting from vaccine refusal

WASHINGTON (AP) — 4 cadets at the Air Drive Academy could not graduate or be commissioned as military officers this month as a result of they've refused the COVID-19 vaccine, and so they may be required to pay again 1000's of dollars in tuition costs, according to Air Force officials.

It’s the only military academy, up to now, the place cadets may face such penalties. The Army and Navy said that as of now, not one in all their seniors is being prevented from graduating at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, or the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, due to vaccine refusals. The graduations are in about two weeks.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin final year made the COVID-19 vaccinations obligatory for service members, including those on the military academies, saying the vaccine is important to sustaining military readiness and the health of the drive.

Navy leaders have argued that troops for many years have been required to get as many as 17 vaccines to be able to keep the well being of the power, significantly these deploying overseas. College students arriving at the army academies get a regimen of shots on their first day — comparable to measles, mumps and rubella - in the event that they aren’t already vaccinated. And they routinely get common flu shots in the fall.

Members of Congress, the military and the public have questioned if the exemption critiques by the army providers have been honest. There have been a number of lawsuits filed against the mandate, primarily centering on the fact that very few service members have been granted non secular exemptions from the shots.

Till the COVID-19 vaccine, only a few navy members sought spiritual exemptions to any vaccines.

Lt. Col. Brian Maguire, an Air Power Academy spokesman, said that whereas vaccination standing could hinder the graduation of the 4 seniors, “there are still two weeks until graduation, so their standing may change because the cadets weigh their options.”

Based on Maguire, the four cadets — who are usually not named — have been knowledgeable of the potential consequences, and have met with the academy’s superintendent. In addition to these four, there are two juniors, one sophomore and 6 freshmen on the academy who've additionally refused the vaccine.

The army academies for years have required college students under certain circumstances to repay tuition costs if they go away throughout their junior or senior 12 months. Typically these involve college students with disciplinary points or related issues. The costs may be as a lot as $200,000, or extra, and any closing determination on compensation is made by the service secretary.

West Point mentioned that there aren't any members of the Class of 2022 who've refused to get the vaccine.

Throughout the military, the Military, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps have discharged practically 4,000 energetic responsibility service members for refusing the vaccine. In accordance with latest knowledge released by the providers, more than 2,100 Marines, 900 sailors, 500 Military troopers and 360 airmen have been thrown out of the military, and at the very least 50 had been discharged throughout entry degree training, earlier than they moved into energetic duty service.

Those who flatly refuse the vaccine with out searching for an exemption are still being discharged. However the courts have stalled extra discharges of service members who sought religious exemptions.

Last month, a federal decide in Texas barred the Navy from taking motion for now towards sailors who've objected to being vaccinated on spiritual grounds.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor had, in January, issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Navy from disciplining or discharging 35 sailors who sued over the Navy’s vaccine policy whereas their case performed out. In April, O’Connor agreed the case may go ahead as a category action swimsuit and issued a preliminary injunction masking about 4,000 sailors who've objected on non secular grounds to being vaccinated.

Additionally last month, a federal judge in Ohio granted a preliminary injunction blocking the Air Force from disciplining a dozen officers and some further airmen and reservists who had been looking for non secular exemptions. The officers, largely from Wright-Patterson Air Drive Base near Dayton, Ohio, sued in February after their exemption requests had been denied.

Based on the army, as many as 20,000 service members have asked for non secular exemptions. Thousands have been denied.

As of latest knowledge, the Air Drive has accepted 73 spiritual exemptions, the Marine Corps has authorised seven, and the Army has authorised eight. Earlier than the injunction, the Navy conditionally accepted one reservist and 26 active-duty requests for spiritual exemptions, and 10 requests from members of the Particular person Prepared Reserve. The IRR approvals mean that these sailors don’t have to be vaccinated till they are really known as to serve.

About 99% of the active duty Navy and 98% of the Air Force, Marine Corps and Army have gotten at the least one shot.