by American Militar
The U.S. Marine Corps has received more than 2,400 requests for a religious exemption to the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and it hasn’t approved any of them.
On Monday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported the Marine Corps received a total of 2,441 requests for religious exemptions to the vaccine mandates, of which they have processed 1,902 requests and approved none. This is the first time the service has provided specific figures on the number of members who had requested religious waivers since the various military branches began moving towards a vaccine mandate in August.
The Marine Corps’ non-existent approval rate for religious exemption requests comes as the service’s vaccination deadline passed on Sunday, Nov. 28.
The Marine Corps has also received vaccination exemption requests on medical and administrative grounds. The service has granted temporary medical and administrative exemptions to more than 700 Marines and 14 permanent exemptions for medical and administrative reasons.
About 95 percent of the Marine Corps’ active-duty members have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the lowest vaccination rate of any of the U.S. military branches.
If the remaining five percent — around 11,000 — of active Marines continue to refuse the vaccine altogether and could be kicked out of the service. As of Nov. 24, the Marine Corps has another 10,980 partially vaccinated troops, who also face separation if they don’t eventually become fully vaccinated.
Marine Times reported on Nov. 18, only about 75 percent of the Marine Corps Reserve has been recorded as partially or fully vaccinated, though they have until Dec. 28 to be fully vaccinated.
To date, 75 U.S. military service members have died from COVID-19-related illness…
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