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Authored by Katabella Roberts by way of The Epoch Instances,
The U.S. Navy will not take into account the COVID-19 vaccination standing of sailors when making selections about their deployment, in line with newly up to date Navy steering printed this week.
The up to date steering comes shortly after Congress eliminated the navy’s vaccine requirement as a part of the $858 billion Nationwide Protection Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal yr 2023.
Biden signed the (NDAA) into regulation in December and Secretary of Protection Lloyd Austin formally rescinded the vaccination mandate in January.
“Commanders ought to search recommendation from medical suppliers relating to medical readiness of personnel to tell deployment and different operational mission selections,” the Navy’s new steering stated.
“COVID-19 vaccination standing shall not be a consideration in assessing particular person service member suitability for deployment or different operational missions.”
“On no account shall a Commander mandate that any Navy Service member receives the COVID-19 vaccination,” it provides.
Previous to the up to date steering, the mandate requiring that vaccine standing be thought of earlier than the deployment of sailors had been in place for greater than a yr.
No Distinction Between Vaccinated, Non-Vaccinated
Thursday’s up to date steering additionally famous, “Commanders retain the authority to implement Well being Safety Measures at any time or method deemed crucial in help of operational security and effectiveness, and the place crucial, to limit motion of service members in an effort to adjust to host nation quarantine laws.”
Moreover, it famous that senior members of the navy ought to nonetheless consider dangers to missions and particular person sailors.
“Commanders in any respect ranges are directed to stability operational employment with the well being and security of their models in accordance with present USD (P&R) Power Well being Safety Steerage,” the steering stated.
It additionally famous that sailors who haven’t been vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19 should face restrictions when coming into nations which have COVID-19 laws akin to quarantine in place, and that in such circumstances, commanders might want to guarantee sailors adjust to these necessities.
“GNCCs [Geographic Navy Component Commanders] will assess and decide upfront any host nation quarantine regulation necessities that will problem U.S. sovereign immunity coverage,” the steering acknowledged.
The steering makes it clear that there isn’t a distinction between vaccinated and non-vaccinated sailors, and that particular person circumstances of COVID-19 will not have to be reported, though pandemic or infectious disease-related medical evacuations, hospitalizations, and deaths will nonetheless have to be reported.
In response to america Naval Institute (USNI), the Navy has separated a complete of two,096 sailors for not adhering to the sooner COVID-19 vaccine mandate—1,664 of whom had been on energetic obligation.
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