According to a new report, nearly 40% of U.S. Marines are declining COVID-19 vaccines.
Some 75,500 sailors have been shot, CNN reported Friday. But 48,000 more Marines have turned down the shots. This means that of all Marines who offered shots so far, 38.9 percent say no.
Another 102,000 marines have not yet been offered vaccines.
These statistics are even heavier than February reports suggesting that, in general, about a third of military personnel decline to be vaccinated.
At the time, Air Force General Jeff Taliaferro, deputy director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a group in Congress that soldiers need education “to help them understand the benefits” of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. vaccine.
There were 273,503 cases of COVID-19 in the Department of Defense on April 9, according to Military.com.
Part of the reason decline rates are so high among service members is that COVID-19 vaccines are not yet mandatory and those who reject the vaccine can still be deployed.
“We have already demonstrated over the last year that we are fully capable of operating in a COVID environment,” Taliaferro said in February.
In a statement to CNN, Marine Corps spokeswoman Colonel Kelly Frushour said they were focused on “building confidence in vaccines” among staff.
“We fully understand that widespread acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine provides us with the best means to overcome the pandemic.”
