Editor's Note: The Sentinel has released the first installment of SEALs Beat Biden, a documentary that tells the story of the Navy SEALs and other service members who resisted the Biden military vaccine mandate. Watch the series for free here.
Lawmakers called for a study of the military vaccine mandates and whether the shots negatively impacted the health and overall wellness of service members.
The recently passed National Defense Appropriations Act sanctioned a study to “assess and evaluate any health conditions arising in members of the armed forces on active duty one year after receiving the first dose” of a COVID vaccine. Defense officials were instructed to present their findings to Congress by the end of next year.
The study will consider the age, type of dose, and manufacturer of the dose received by service members, as well as “any health condition developed after receiving such first dose, regardless of whether the condition is attributable to the receipt of such first dose.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mandated two years ago that all service members under Pentagon authority receive COVID vaccinations, an order which was reversed at the beginning of this year only after thousands were forced out of their positions and denied their constitutional right to apply for religious accommodations. The mandate came as the military endures severe recruitment shortfalls, prompting Army recruiters to contact soldiers involuntarily separated from the military due to their vaccination status and ask them to rejoin.
Enactment of the study, which Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was instructed to oversee, occurs after several Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough requesting information on how the agency will handle disabilities resulting from the vaccine, as well as whether the agency will investigate reports of vaccine injuries.
“Many service members, despite hesitations against receiving the vaccine, chose to be vaccinated to continue their service to our country,” they said. “If our government is asking service members to receive a vaccine, we must be cognizant that there will be unintended side effects that may cause lifelong impacts on their health.”
