I know what you’re thinking because I thought the same thing when I read this story. Doesn’t the Pentagon routinely order vaccines for troops?
It does. But you can only order staff to get a shot if that shot has been fully approved by the FDA for the general public. Neither Pfizer nor Moderna have received full approval; they have received emergency use permission to accelerate their availability in the midst of a terrible crisis. This bureaucratic wrinkle means that the hands of the military are momentarily tied even though protection against COVID is a matter of basic preparation. Until the FDA grants full approval, the defense department gets stuck to prevent vaccines instead of targeting them.
The rule limiting the Pentagon’s authority to require vaccines unless they have been approved for public use was designed, I suppose, to protect soldiers from being treated as medical guinea pigs for new pharmaceutical treatments by his uncle. Sam. This is a good rule of thumb, but it produces an absurd result in the case of a product that has already been dosed to nearly 50 million Americans en route to shipping to the majority of the American population by the end of summer. At this time, no one is “experimenting” with the military by giving them an mRNA vaccine.
But the rules are rules and vaccine skeptics within the ranks take advantage. And, as can be assumed, refuseniks are young trends.
About a third of the troops on active duty or in the National Guard have declined to take the vaccine, said military officials recently in Congress. In some places, such as Fort Bragg, NC, the largest military facility in the country, acceptance rates are less than 50% …
Although Pentagon officials say they do not collect specific data on those who reject the vaccine, there is widespread agreement that refusal rates are much higher among younger members, and it is more likely that hired staff will say no, than officers. Military spouses seem to share this hesitation: In a December survey of 674 active family members conducted by Blue Star Families, a military advocacy group, 58% said they would not allow their children to receive the vaccine. …
“I’d rather not be the one to try this vaccine,” [one airman] explained in an email. He also said that as access to the vaccine had become a campaign issue during the 2020 race for the White House, he was more skeptical and added that some of his colleagues had they told him that they would rather separate from the military than take the vaccine in case it was mandatory.
Reports of older vaccinations in DOD have been circulating for at least a month. I guess the main reason younger soldiers refuse that older ones is the well-known fact that they are less likely to suffer debilitating effects from a COVID case at age 25 than at age 65. If you have been led to believe that the vaccine itself is risky, the low likelihood of getting serious illness if you become infected will obviously affect your risk calculation. Younger troops probably also spend more time online than older ones, exposing them to more anti-cow propaganda. (“Some of the concerns stem from misinformation that has spread to Facebook and other social media, including the false rumor that the vaccine contains a microchip designed to control receptors, that it will permanently disable the body’s immune system or that it is ‘some form of government control.’) And, as a matter of basic psychology, younger troops may savor an opportunity to rebel against the Pentagon’s authority over them more than the metals that normally exercise that authority.
“What we’re seeing right now is similar to what we’re seeing across the United States, as there’s a higher percentage of seniors who choose to get the vaccine and it decreases with age.” an Air Force general told the Military Times earlier this month. He is right. According to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 77% of Americans age 65 or older have been shot or plan to do so as soon as possible. But only 41% of Americans ages 18 to 29 say the same.
Some of the hesitant hesitations may be military specific, such as memories of the side effects caused by the anthrax vaccine in the late 1990s. But much of this could be explained by simple demographics. While it is true that the military is more Republican than the general population, it is logical that it may also be more skeptical about the COVID vaccine. 75% of Democrats in the general population have received the first shot or will do so as soon as possible, according to the KFF poll mentioned above, but only 41% of Republicans. The same survey shows that 41% of black Americans have managed to make a plan or do so as soon as possible against 61% of whites, and blacks are overrepresented in relation to their total U.S. population share. .
But if it is true that the hesitation of the military is only a reflection of the general public, there is room for optimism. Because the public is warming up with the idea of getting vaccinated:
As COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts continue in the United States, the latest KFF COVID-19 vaccine monitor reports that now the majority (55%) of American adults say they have received at least one dose of the vaccine (18%) or will receive it as soon as they can (37%), compared to 47% in January and 34 % in December. The share of wanting to “wait and see” how the vaccine works for others before getting vaccinated was reduced from 31% in January to 22% in February, while one in five persistently says they will get the vaccine “only if needed for work, school or other activities ”(7%) or“ definitely ”will not be vaccinated (15%).
Inevitably, as the number of vaccines soars, some of the “wait and see” crowd will conclude that it should be safe or else reports of serious side effects would be widespread. The arrival of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine may also soften opposition:
The difficulty the Pentagon has in getting vaccine seekers to buy is that it is a hierarchically rigid organization, which is fantastic when it has the power to demand vaccines, but possibly counterproductive when it is forced to convince people. One researcher told the Times that the most important factor in convincing someone to get the punch is whether they know someone who has received it personally, evidence that trust, not pressure from authority figures, it is the way forward. KFF data also shows this:
Bronze can only do what it can do, which is why SecDef Lloyd Austin posted the embedded video below a few days ago. But I wonder if it wouldn’t be more effective for COs to try to identify the most popular members of their units and do everything they can through friendly persuasion to convince these soldiers to make the move. Having an example of someone who likes and trusts many of his peers can have a “viral” effect on those around him in terms of his willingness to get vaccinated. This, in addition to an educational campaign on vaccine safety, may be the best the Pentagon can do until the FDA finally issues full approval of the shot, at which point the order to punch can be given. if.