US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Tuesday rescinded the Pentagon's Covid-19 vaccine mandate, a move required by Congress over his objections as part of the 2023 defense spending bill.Austin wrote in a memo scrapping the mandate -- under which the Pentagon says more than 8,000 military personnel were discharged for refusing to comply -- that he is 'deeply proud' of the Defense Department's efforts to combat Covid-19.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Tuesday rescinded the Pentagon's Covid-19 vaccine mandate, a move required by Congress over his objections as part of the 2023 defense spending bill.
The memo also said that the department would continue to encourage vaccination, and told commanders that they have"the responsibility and authority to preserve the department's compelling interests in mission accomplishment." The requirement in the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023 that the mandate be ended was a victory for Republicans.
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