While in Texas, the sailors offered descriptions of their jobs, in Florida, the biographical information goes into training, deployments and expertise, attempting to make the case that their involuntary discharges would be a huge loss. 11. What the government will have to prove, in both cases, is that while its granted thousands of medical and administrative exemptions though many of those are temporary that the high bar for approval of religious exemptions is necessary for keeping the force healthy and deployable. 300aa-10-300aa-44). The Navy comes in second with a total of 469 separations, which includes 50 this past week. The Supreme Court is reviewing a legal shield that tech companies have long relied on to avoid liability for content on their platforms. The NAVADMIN, referencing the injunction, prevents adverse action against sailors who will not get the COVID-19 vaccine and submitted a religious exemptions request. Other service members have struck out on their own to fight the mandate. Another plaintiff is fighting in court after trying to retire one alternative to vaccination the Air Force offered. A federal court in Ohio on Thursday blocked the Air Force from enforcing the militarys coronavirus vaccine mandate for two weeks, a short-term win for airmen fighting multiple legal battles against inoculation. The next stop in the litigation is likely to be an appeal by the Department of Defense and the Biden administration to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Judge Matthew McFarlands decision brings the case, Doster v. Kendall, closer to trial as a class-action lawsuit. Assuming, maybe Im assuming too much. Like the other service branches, the Navy required all active-duty service members to be fully vaccinated before Nov. 28 or risk a full range of disciplinary action. The Biden Administration has previously admitted that it is not the federal government's role to enforce vaccine mandates. Lawyers are waiting to see if a federal court in Georgia will stop the vaccine mandate nationwide through another class-action preliminary injunction as well. Each of those shots also involves cell tissue derived from fetuses, as does one version of the rabies vaccine. CBC News reached out multiple times to Galati, who is listed as the spokesperson for the lawsuit in a press release issued by Vaccine Choice Canada. The Department of the Air Force, which also issues guidance for the Space Force, has detailed it will be rescinding letters of admonishment, counseling or reprimand; records of individual counseling; nonjudicial punishments; and current involuntary discharge proceedings connected to vaccine refusal. The latest data from the military show that roughly 30,000 active-duty service members remain unvaccinated against COVID-19, despite a Defense Department mandate issued in August and deadlines. There are fresh concerns that public support for ongoing military assistance may be waning. Military leaders have long argued that to maintain unit health and troop readiness, troops have for decades been required to get as many as 17 vaccines, particularly those who are deploying overseas. The latest class action targets the Air Forces religious accommodation process, arguing that process is set up in such a way that getting a religious exemption to the vaccine is almost impossible. I know, off the top of my head, the number in the Navy is somewhere near 4,100. The complaint also brings up the issue of Food and Drug Administration licensure. Vaccine refusers often state that the use of fetal cell lines in the creation of the shots conflicts with their views on abortion. Three of the event's witnesses doctors Jay Bhattacharya, Martin Kulldorf, and Marty Makary are part of a small group of medical experts known as the Norfolk Group. Indeed, Defendants employed such measures during the prior year before COVID-19 vaccines were made widely available.. The Catholic Churchs policy on derived fetal cells has been clear for decades: the sin of abortion is so far removed in pharmaceutical development that a Catholic is not violating any principles by getting vaccinated. The latest class action targets the Air Forces religious accommodation process, arguing that process is set up in such a way that getting a religious exemption to the vaccine is almost impossible. And theyre discriminating against people in the military. Mike Barry: I think theres almost 30 now. The free exercise of religion, even in the military, it triggers the strongest protection available in the law.. The Marine Corps confirmed to a California congressman that two of those Marines were preparing to leave the service, while another one is doing a Training With Industry assignment. The plaintiffs argue that violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment. Under the law, theres no requirement that you adhere to a major or even recognized faith tradition, he said. But the DoD is just saying Nope, we wont even recognize that we wont even consider it, even though they consider natural immunity for other communicable diseases and infections and things like that. I mean, this is quickly becoming a national security issue for our nation. Technology Artificial Intelligence Ask the CIO Automation Big Data CIO News Cloud Computing Cybersecurity IT Modernization Open Data/Transparency Reporter's Notebook Defense On DoD Army Navy Air Force More than 60 service members have joined lawsuits against the U.S. government, alleging that the military's process for awarding religious vaccine exemptions is a sham. More than 60 service members have joined lawsuits against the U.S. government, alleging that the militarys process for awarding religious vaccine exemptions is a sham. The Army reported about 1,300 religious requests, none of which have been approved, as well as six medical exemptions. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), it doesnt, the sincerity issue is what everybody seems to be concerned with, right? 26 Feb 2023 11:38:25 Read all Military Times coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here, Tens of thousands of part-time soldiers face discharge for missing COVID vax deadline, Federal judge shields another unvaccinated airman from punishment, New vaccine may be option for troops with religious concerns, Bids to weaken military COVID vaccine mandate stall in Congress, Veterans Affairs drops mask requirement for all agency medical offices, Officials OK some hand and neck tattoos for airmen, Guardians, Perennial pilot shortage puts Air Force in precarious position, Healthy eating on a budget for busy military spouses, The impossible choice facing many of Americas military families, Tax scams How to report them Money Minute, Capitol Hill weighs action on two controversial topics: medical marijuana and abortion, Lockheed wins hypersonics contract | Defense Dollars, Go inside a secret nuclear fallout bunker sealed for decades, Another Air Force fleet grounded over fears plane tails may fall off, Pentagon orders engine vibration fix for entire F-35 fleet worldwide, Minot firings due to failed nuclear safety inspection, Air Force advisers study use of satellites for tracking moving targets. Because how do you avoid getting to the point where anyone can deny or refuse any lawful order by claiming that they have a sincerely held religious belief that would be encumbered by it? Other plaintiffs focus not on the abortion issue, but on several Bible passages that refer to the body as a temple. Theyre basically saying, Nope, the vaccine is the only way that were going to allow you to continue to remain in the service. And one of the things I forgot to mention was the whole concept of natural immunity. While it allowed service members to apply for religious exemptions to the mandate, it has not granted a single one. So our lawsuit is really predicated on on the argument that this is all a sham, that the Air Force is not following the Constitution. They had been told to get certain vaccines or other things without even be notified of a religious objection.. Im happy to take that one from you. And to say, basically, no, you will do this because we said so and if you dont, were gonna kick you out. The Supreme Court ruled in March 2022 that the sea service was allowed to reassign sailors who had refused the shot and filed exemption requests to nonoperational commands. And in one instance, I saw one of the head people for recruiting in the military said, Were having a really hard time identifying, basically people who are eligible to serve in the military. The Navy began issuing guidance to sailors earlier this month. The lawsuit is one of two that have grabbed headlines in recent months, as the military has imposed mandatory vaccination deadlines that have since lapsed for all of the services and their components, save the Army National Guard and Army Reserve. Jared Serbu: I want to go back to what you said earlier about the process being a sham, because I want to try and draw how much of an issue that actually is, in these cases. [Many] didnt even know that there was a religious exemption option, because they had never been informed of it, Staver said. Biden appointee behind unlawful military vaccine mandate to step down. Jared Serbu: This case seems remarkably similar to another case that I think First Liberty was also counsel on with a group of Navy SEALs before the very same judge, I believe too. . Theyre usually willing to accept that and say, look, yeah, Im happy to. But the administration won at least a temporary, partial victory last March when the Supreme Court approved a partial stay. The order allowed the Navy to consider the sailors vaccination status in making decisions on deployment, assignment and other operational issues while the case plays out. Additionally, "promotion records will be corrected by the [Department of the Air Force] who will remove or redact all adverse actions related to vaccine refusal," according to a Friday press release. U.S. Military Service Members with Natural Immunity File Lawsuit over COVID Vaccine Mandate. Because they will not compromise these religious beliefs, Plaintiffs have been threatened with separation from the military and other disciplinary action. Fox News U.S. However, in a strange turn of events, while Bolsonaro was eating Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes in Orlando, a group of Bolsonaristas (supporters of Bolsonaro) attacked the Brazilian Supreme Court, Congress, and Presidential Palace in Brasilia and called for a military coup.Lula blamed Bolsonaro personally for the attacks; Moraes quickly moved to suspend Brasilia's governor and security chief . Telling Plaintiffs they must accept or receive a shot they oppose according to their sincerely held religious beliefs, or face court martial, dishonorable discharge, and other life altering disciplinary measures, disgraces the sacrifices these heroes have made, according to the lawsuit. In late August, Pfizers vaccine received full approval under the brand name Comirnaty. According to the First Liberty Institute, the public interest law firm representing the service members, each of the denials appeared to be identical, suggesting the Navy had not taken any of the religious exemption requests seriously. Adam Rawnsley. In December, the Air Force announced it had discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID . Read Next: The Navy's Top Enlisted Sailor Is Ready for You to Ask Him Anything. The law says that sincerely held religious beliefs are to be taken at face value. In one of manyongoing federal lawsuitschallenging COVID-19 vaccine mandates across the country, Judge Reed OConnor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a group of Navy SEALs and Naval Special Warfare personnel a resounding victory Jan. 3 inU.S. Navy SEALs 1-26 v. Biden. Nov. 2, 2021. Each week, Defense Reporter Jared Serbu speaks with the managers of the federal government's largest department. Nearly 1,500 more people are exempt for medical or administrative reasons, such as severe allergic reactions or upcoming retirement. This disparity of treatment between medical and religious exemptions was constitutionally prohibited,OConnor said: As a brief preview, the vaccine mandate fails strict scrutiny. The service members who filed the lawsuit represent more than 350 collective years of military service, and more than 100 combat deployments. If you want to swap with me, and they do that through the employer, or their employer offers that. Theyre not following federal law. Trident Order #12 also implemented the COVID-19 vaccine mandate at the command level for Naval Special Warfare forces, setting a deadline of compliance for October 17, 2021," the SEALs' legal team . Plaintiffs do not believe that staying true to their faith means exposing themselves or others to unnecessary risk, according to the filing. The US military has approved religious exemptions to its Covid-19 vaccine mandate for 15 service members out of approximately 16,000 requests, according to the latest data from the services. They have similar objections to their Texas counterparts, from opposition to abortion to concerns about modifying their bodies. But in terms of the underlying legal issues that are raised, no, theyre exactly the same. Pfizer and Modernas mRNA products used cells replicated from a fetus aborted in the 1970s to make sure the vaccines worked in human cells. Jared Serbu: Mike, thanks for being here. All of the military services are currently reworking their policies to adjust separation and promotion records for service members who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, after the Pentagon ended the inoculation mandate last month. But if they eventually get consolidated in the Supreme Court grants cert [writs of certiorari] on something that considers the issue more broadly, would you expect that well get a case or a ruling that goes beyond the narrow issue of vaccines and gives the military some guidance as to how RFRA and broader religious accommodation issues apply to the military? On Jan. 7,the Supreme Court is set to hear oral argumentsin a set of high-profile, consolidated cases on the Biden administrations vaccine mandates for private-sector entities with 100 or more employees, and for health care facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funding. There was no indication when the judges would rule. I mean, all of it is just fraught with ideological purpose, and suspected purpose.. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said in the press release that the service is still, however, encouraging vaccinations. President Biden declared "the pandemic is over," yet is still pushing to discharge thousands of religious service members for their objections to taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Washington Technology Power Breakfast: Cyber Command planning intelligence center, TSP contractor promises more improvements, for other communicable diseases and infections, FOIA backlogs on the rise after record number of requests, Revived bills would alter feds payment obligations during shutdowns, federal first responders pensions, VA launches equity task force to address disparity in benefits decisions based on race, White House $1.6B COVID fraud plan gives federal watchdogs increased staffing, VA deputy secretary, leader on EHR rollout and customer experience, is stepping down. Government lawyers argue the policy is in line with well-established principles of judicial noninterference with core military decision making, in their briefs. The judge agreed, issuing an injunction against discipline for the sailors on Jan. 3. In one of many ongoing federal lawsuits challenging COVID-19 vaccine mandates across the country, Judge Reed O'Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a group . This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. Starbucks, for example, doesnt have a vaccine requirement. The population of people seeking religious accommodations now is fairly small.. The Navy SEALS filed their lawsuit in November of 2021, describing what they saw as a cumbersome 50-step process to obtain religious exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine. We are kicking out people by the thousands. And I have yet to hear of a single flight being canceled because there was a COVID outbreak at 30,000 feet. Sixty-seven percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. The Navy has, however, granted medical exemption requests submitted by other personnel. They dont offer what are, in the legal speak, we call advisory opinions. The story seems pretty similar to whats going on with these airmen. The lawsuits dont mention other vaccines these troops received either in their childhoods or during service the chicken pox, rubella and hepatitis A vaccines are all required that used descendent fetal cells in development. In his order, OConnor granted an injunction against the Biden administration and the Department of Defense, preventing them from enforcing the vaccine mandate against any of the named service members who had applied for a religious exemption. Their objections to the vaccine fall into one of four categories, according to their complaint, including opposition to abortion and the use of fetal cell lines in pharmaceutical development, belief that body modification violates their religious principles, direct, divine instruction not to receive the vaccine, or declining to inject trace amounts of animal cells into ones body.. The vaccine mandate for military personnel was put in place in August, with a deadline of Sept. 15. In a hypothetical alternate universe where it were the Navy and the Air Force, the rest of the services had an exemption process or a waiver process that did look more credible to you and to the court, do you lose these cases? Right? The temporary restraining order means the military cannot punish airmen and Space Force guardians whose application for a religious exemption to one of the federally endorsed vaccines was denied or is still being processed. It is a danger of, you know, the government saying, Well, hey, heres what your faith tradition teaches, you should follow that, " Griffin said. All rights reserved. Whats clear is that the COVID-19 has broken open a bit of a wormhole in the military. And then if you come back and you say, oh, no, but my exemption is a medical exemption [see Contraindications and Precautions]not a religious exemption, then the military says, Oh, well, in that case, we welcome you with open arms. Quite the contrary, they view life whether their own or that of their fellow servicemembers as sacred and deserving protection.. NEW ORLEANS Federal appeals court judges closely questioned a Biden administration attorney Monday on the consequences military personnel might face for refusing COVID-19 vaccinations, even. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. More than 800 unvaccinated service members have been ousted from the Air Force so far. All of the military services are currently reworking their policies to adjust separation and promotion records for service members who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, after the Pentagon. The group includes 14 men and two women. In the Navy, none of more than 4,000 religious exemptions had been approved, but there were about 252 temporary and 11 permanent medical exemptions. The Coast Guard issued guidance Monday announcing it was "taking action to remove" all administrative remark entries related to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate from reserve and active-duty records. Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. More:Dark money group targets Oklahoma Gov. In the Ohio case, 2nd Lt. Hunter Doster of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and more than a dozen other plaintiffs argue the Air Force is forcing them to lose their livelihoods or violate their religious beliefs by receiving vaccines they say are impure or have ties to abortion. Here, Plaintiffs must decide whether to lose their livelihoods or violate sincerely held religious beliefs. To date, no members of the Army or Space Force have received a religious exemption, though nine airmen and three Marines have been approved. And is there somewhere else we can assign them where maybe theyre at less risk of of COVID transmission or they start looking at the data, right, the actual CDC data and the COVID day they start look kicking it around and saying, You know what? Produced by Will Reid , Rob Szypko . (U.S. Navy) Two service members filed a class action lawsuit against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to halt a mandate that all troops receive the coronavirus vaccine and create an exemption. "We are grateful for the support of the Legislature and the Governor in the State's efforts to block the . Of course, that came because of a federal judges ruling. Army leadership has been eyeing the possibility of a mandated COVID-19 vaccine this summer, including in a June information paper originating from the Army's health care operations directorate . A federal judge in Cincinnati has expanded a temporary exemption to a Department of Defense COVID-19 vaccine mandate to cover thousands of service members in the U.S. Air Force and Space Force,. Rabies shots are required only for some service members in certain career fields. Two Eglin Air Force base officers are among the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. military personnel. A vaccine lawsuit is filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, instead of regular state or federal courts like other drug injury claims. The Navy lawsuit is one of several ongoing legal challenges to the military branches' policies on religious exemptions to the DoD COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The Heritage Foundation, a petitioner in the case challenging the private-sector vaccine mandate,has asked the courtto invalidate the governments order. Unlike VARES that is questioned a lot by the totally compromised medical establishment for accuracy, the U.S. military DMED (Defense Medical Epidemiology Database) reporting system is only submitted by military doctors and qualifies every single ICD (International Classification of Diseases) code in the military for Tricare billing to Humana Insurance covering over 6 million military personal. Need help accessing the FCC Public File due to a disability? ", -- Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report. Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine syringes at a vaccination clinic in the Peabody Institute Library in Peabody, Massachusetts, on Jan. 26, 2022. VICP provides compensation for injuries and deaths caused by I think one of the militarys concerns is whats the limiting principle here? He spoke with a reporter last Wednesday but did . They include the small risk of myocarditis, which has anecdotally occurred in 1,626 U.S. residents out of more than 200 million fully vaccinated, with the highest risk in men under 24. On Tuesday, a federal judge granted an injunction against discipline of an Air Force officer whose religious exemption had been denied. A federal appellate judge has dealt another blow to the military's coronavirus vaccine mandate by allowing a high-profile class-action lawsuit against the Air Force to move forward. When I meet my maker, Im going to be held responsible for the decisions Ive made, and Id much rather go to prison, Stapanon testified in March. And yet were short, were saying that were having a hard time recruiting people. None of the plaintiffs clarify whether they engage in any other behavior that might be seen as a desecration of that temple, whether its alcohol, drugs, unprotected sex or in the case of the Old Testament tattoos and piercings. And both lawsuits include arguments that the plaintiffs prayed on the issue and came to the conclusion that vaccination would violate their principles. Until any harm is remedied, according to Bruns, the case is still active. Commercial airlines has said, you know what, were gonna lift the mask mandate. There is no COVID-19 exception to the First Amendment. Subscribe to Federal Drives daily audio interviews onApple PodcastsorPodcastOne. The military across the board is discriminating discriminating against people of faith. The suit was initially filed by a group of Navy SEALs but later expanded to include all vaccine-refusing sailors. That includes protection from an adverse action while their exemptions are in process, a key part of the complaint, according to one of the attorneys on the lawsuit, which alleges that the plaintiffs have been removed from their jobs, flagged for promotion or otherwise hampered during the exemption process. Pope Francis has called vaccination against COVID-19 a moral obligation and an act of love., Frequently people let themselves be influenced by the ideology of the moment, often bolstered by baseless information or poorly documented facts, he said in January, adding that vaccines are not a magical means of healing, yet surely they represent, in addition to other treatments that need to be developed, the most reasonable solution for the prevention of the disease.. Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek declined to comment on ongoing litigation and how it may affect how the service handles religious accommodation requests. And lets start by talking a bit about your clients, where they are in the Air Force vaccine exemption process and what led you to file the suit? Simply put, no actual fetal cells were used in the development of any of the COVID-19 vaccines the cells in question were replicated by scientists, in labs, from tissue harvested previously. Attorneys for the unvaccinated Navy personnel argued in briefs to the 5th Circuit that Austins memo and other Defense Department actions show that the Navy still intends to treat unvaccinated personnel like second-class citizens because of their religious beliefs..