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Vaccines

Senator Ron Johnson Questions COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Military Personnel

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has raised concerns over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for service members in the U.S. military, citing alleged discrepancies between the Department of Defense's (DoD) vaccination policy and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's August 2021 memorandum. Johnson's letter to President Biden, Secretary Austin, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley requests additional information and data on the vaccination program. The senator's concerns center on the use of Comirnaty, the only fully approved COVID-19 vaccine, and the possible administration of vaccines without full FDA approval.

Key Takeaways:

  • Senator Ron Johnson has written a letter to President Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley expressing concerns over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for military personnel.
  • Johnson's letter alleges that the DoD's mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations may not be in accordance with Secretary Austin's August 24, 2021 memorandum, which stated that mandatory vaccination would only use COVID-19 vaccines that receive full licensure from the FDA.
  • The senator references multiple sources, including FDA letters and memos, which suggest that there is not sufficient approved vaccine supply available for distribution to military personnel.
  • Johnson requests information on the number of vaccinations administered since the vaccine mandate, including the number of voluntary and mandated vaccinations using each vaccine by month.
  • The senator also asks for all orders and guidelines issued to DoD personnel regarding the vaccine mandate and all documents and communications regarding the development and implementation of the vaccine mandate.

Statistics:

  • August 24, 2021: The date on which Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's memorandum stating that mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 will only use COVID-19 vaccines that receive full licensure from the FDA.
  • September 13, 2021: The date on which Pfizer announced that it does not plan to produce Comirnaty for at least a few months while EUA-authorized product is still available and being made available for U.S. distribution.
  • September 22, 2021: The date on which the FDA stated that there is not sufficient approved vaccine available for distribution to military personnel.
  • October 12, 2021: The date on which Senator Johnson wrote the letter to President Biden, Secretary Austin, and General Milley.

Sources:

  • [1] Memorandum from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to Senior Pentagon Leadership, et al. (Aug. 24, 2021) (available at https://media.defense.gov/2021/Aug/25/2002838826/-1/-1/0/MEMORANDUM-FOR-MANDATORY-CORONAVIRUS-DISEASE-2019-VACCINATION-OF-DEPARTMENT-OF-DEFENSE-SERVICE-MEMBERS.PDF)
  • [2] Letter to Elisa Harkins, Pfizer Inc., from Denise Hinton, Chief Scientist, U.S. Food and Drug Administration at 5, Aug. 23, 2021, archived copy available at https://web.archive.org/web/20210823142034/https://www.fda.gov/media/150386/download (See footnote 9)
  • [3] Announcement, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Pfizer received FDA BLA license for its COVID-19 vaccine (Sept. 13, 2021), available at https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/dailymed-announcements-details.cfm?date=2021-09-13
  • [4] Letter to Amit Patel, BioNTech Manufacturing GmbH, from Denise Hinton, Chief Scientist, U.S. Food and Drug Administration at 6, Sept. 22, 2021, available at https://www.fda.gov/media/150386/download (See footnote 12)
  • [5] Memorandum from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to Senior Pentagon Leadership, et al. (Aug. 24, 2021) (available at https://media.defense.gov/2021/Aug/25/2002838826/-1/-1/0/MEMORANDUM-FOR-MANDATORY-CORONAVIRUS-DISEASE-2019-VACCINATION-OF-DEPARTMENT-OF-DEFENSE-SERVICE-MEMBERS.PDF)

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