Pentagon: Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandatory for All Active-Duty Troops

The Pentagon on Wednesday ordered all active-duty troops to be vaccinated immediately with the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine days after the Food and Drug Administration granted it full approval.

In a memo obtained by Reuters and The Associated Press Wednesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered service leaders to “impose ambitious timelines for implementation.”

Now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the Pentagon is adding it to the list of required shots troops must get as part of their military service.

More than 800,000 service members have yet to get their shots, according to Pentagon data. As of Aug. 18, more than 1 million active duty, Guard and Reserve service members were fully vaccinated and nearly 245,000 more had received at least one shot.

The memo doesn’t dictate a specific timeline for completing the vaccinations. But it’s expected to be completed in weeks not months.

This report contains material from Reuters and The Associated Press.