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'MAYBE THEY SHOULD CONSIDER THAT'

Biden Signs Repeal of Military Vaccine Mandate That GOP Hated

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President Joe Biden (D) has signed an $847 billion defense policy bill that repeals his administration’s requirement that all U.S. military members get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The National Defense Authorization Act, signed by Biden on Friday, states that the requirement will be repealed within 30 days of becoming law, Politico reported.

Congressional Democrats agreed to the repeal provision while crafting the legislation with Republicans. While Democrats initially argued that the vaccines were necessary to protect servicemembers from COVID-19, Republicans argued that the requirement violated bodily rights and would result in too many servicemembers being discharged for non-vaccination. They also said that sufficiently high numbers of military members were already getting vaccinated.

By April, 3,400 troops had been involuntarily separated from service for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. About 70 percent received general discharges, service personnel chiefs told Military Times.

It’s entirely possible that Biden’s Department of Defense could issue a new vaccine requirement after the old one is repealed, but such a move would likely be opposed by Republicans who will be in control of the U.S. House starting in January.

“Republicans are expected to continue to press the Pentagon over reinstating troops who were kicked out and giving them back pay,” Politico reported.

Initially, the military vaccine mandate required different full vaccination deadlines for active members in various military branches, most occurring during the final two months of 2021, though reservists in each branch had a bit longer to get vaccinated.

In late December 2021, a district judge in Oklahoma ruled against state Governor Kevin Stitt’s lawsuit objecting to the National Guard’s mandate. But the judge denied Stitt’s request for an injunction blocking the mandate, ruling that their claims were insufficient to stop the federal order.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott filed a similar case in his state. In early January 2022, a Texas judge found in favor of 35 Navy members who said they didn’t want to get vaccinated due to religious objections.

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'MAYBE THEY SHOULD CONSIDER THAT'

‘Literally Killing People’: Jen Psaki Unleashes Truth Bomb on GOP Governor’s Vaccination ‘Disinformation’

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In a rare and almost heated moment White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki Friday afternoon let loose on Republican governors spreading vaccine “disinformation” and attempting to derail efforts to end the coronavirus pandemic, warning them that their words are “literally killing people.”

“The failure to provide accurate public health information including the efficacy of vaccines, and the accessibility of them to people across the country,” Psaki said, “is literally killing people, so maybe they should consider that.”

Her remarks came in response to a reporter specifically citing South Carolina Republican Governor Henry McMaster, who has called for a ban on any attempt to go door-to-door to deliver coronavirus vaccine information.

“There’s still pushback about the President’s comments about going door-to-door to encourage vaccinations. The South Carolina governor said today that ‘enticing, coercing, intimidating, mandating, or pressuring anyone to take a vaccine was bad policy that will deteriorate the public trust and confidence in the state’s efforts,’ and Governor McMaster said he’s going to ‘prohibit the state health agency from using the administration’s targeted tactics.’ Can you respond to the governor and explain what it is that is being done and what is not being done in this outreach.”

Psaki went further, explaining President Biden’s plan to deliver information on vaccines by going door-to-door.

“I would say that what this is, and what is it is not – this is not federal employees going door-to-door. This is grassroots volunteers, this is members of the clergy, these are volunteers who believe that people across the country, especially in low-vaccinated areas should have accurate information, should have information about where they can get vaccinated, where they can save their own lives and their neighbors lives and their family members lives, that’s exactly what this is, it’s something that’s been going on since April, and it’s something where we’ve seen an impact in states where there are lower vaccination rates. So it is something we will continue to, to work with local groups to do, and it’s a disservice to the country and to the people who may lose their lives, who may lose family members, to provide inaccurate disinformation at a moment where we’re still fighting a pandemic.”

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