Tori J. Ross 
All active-duty Marines must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Nov. 28, but that doesn’t mean all unvaccinated Marines will be separated by Nov. 29, Navy Secretary Carlos said. DelToro.
“We will deal with each case on a case-by-case basis,” Del Toro told reporters on Wednesday. “We’re just not going to kick them all out on deadline day.”
The Navy Department will treat unvaccinated Marines “in a very respectful manner” and work with them to understand the consequences of refusing the vaccine, Del Toro said during a conference call about a recent war game from the Navy. Marine.
In October, the Marine Corps announced that Marines who refuse to be vaccinated will face a litany of career-ending ramifications, including administrative separation. About 91% of active duty Marines are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and a total of 94% of active duty Marines have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the most recent data provided by the Marine Corps. This means nearly 16,500 active duty Marines are not fully vaccinated.
“We’re going to try to find out what their problem is and their delay in getting the vaccine, try to advise them as best we can, give them an opportunity to change their minds when it comes to vaccinations,” Del said. Bull. “I hope they will be vaccinated at that time. And if they don’t, of course, they can’t continue to serve in the Marine Corps.
But not all of those Marines outright refused to be vaccinated, a Corps official said. A significant portion of Marines who have not yet been vaccinated have requested religious, administrative or medical exemptions, which are under consideration. Any Marine whose exemption request is denied still has the option of getting vaccinated.
No data on the number of Marines who have requested exemptions from the vaccination mandate is currently not available, according to the Marine Corps.
Unvaccinated Marines who have not yet requested an exemption will face a review to determine if they can remain in the Corps. All active duty Marines must have been vaccinated at least two weeks before the Nov. 28 deadline.
“Per Marine Corps policy (MARADMINs 462/21, 533/21, and 612/21), any active duty Marine or active duty Ready Reserve Marine who has not received a final vaccination dose by November 14 is considered unvaccinated,” said Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Andrew Wood. “All unvaccinated Marines with no pending or approved administrative exemption, medical exemption, religious accommodation or appeal, will be processed for separation administration.”
Since Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced in August that all service members must get their COVID-19 vaccine, each of the military branches has set its own deadline for when troops must meet the requirements in vaccine material.
The Navy, which has set a November 28 deadline for active duty sailors to comply with the mandate, is the most vaccinated military branch: 96.7% of active duty sailors are fully vaccinated and 99.7% of active-duty sailors received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the service, which granted six medical waivers and no religious waivers. That leaves about 11,526 sailors who are still not fully vaccinated.
The Air Force Department has required active duty airmen and space force guards to be vaccinated by Nov. 2, the first deadline for military branches. Currently, 8,068 active duty Airmen and Space Force Guardians are yet to be vaccinated, of which 1,067 are listed as having “refused” the vaccine, according to the service’s website.
So far, the Air Force has approved 1,377 medical exemptions and 240 administrative exemptions for active-duty Airmen and Guardsmen. Another 4,817 active duty personnel have pending requests for religious accommodations. None have been granted so far.
The Army reports that 91.5% of active duty soldiers were fully vaccinated by the Dec. 15 deadline. That leaves more than 41,000 active duty soldiers who are yet to be fully vaccinated. So far, the army has granted a medical exemption, but no religious exemption for soldiers on active duty.
More great stories at Task and objective
Want to write for Task & Purpose? Learn more here and be sure to check out other interesting stories on our homepage.
