WYOMING — Yesterday, Aug. 12, the Wyoming Military Department posted a video clip featuring Wyoming Adjutant General, Major General Greg Porter. Porter discussed the plans for mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for all Department of Defense personnel.
The Wyoming Military Department is the umbrella agency for the Wyoming Army National Guard, the Wyoming Air National Guard and Wyoming Veterans Commission. The announcement also includes a survey for military personnel, their families, and interested civilians to complete anonymously about the COVID-19 vaccines. The survey is live for about 10 days.
On Aug. 9, U.S Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III released a memorandum to all department of defense employees, outlining his plans to seek the President’s approval to make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory “no later than mid-September, or immediately upon the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensure, whichever comes first.”
President Biden supports the mandate. In a message released by the White House Biden said, “I strongly support Secretary Austin’s message to the force today on the Department of Defense’s plan to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for our service members not later than mid-September,”
Porter addressed the news saying, “[It’s] really a response to the delta variant and what he [Austin] sees as a threat to the readiness of the force.”
“Wyoming military department is only about 36% vaccinated across the force so as we go forward, it’s going to be a little bit of a heavy lift as we look at vaccinating the entire force,” Porter said during the video clip.
According to the Department of Defense, nationally, more than 73 percent of active-duty personnel have received at least one shot of the vaccines to date. In the memo, Austin urged all Department of Defense employees and contractors to get vaccinated now, rather than wait for the mandate.
The FDA is expected to give full approval to the vaccines, possibly by the end of the month.
“There are a lot of pieces of the guidance that we just don’t know yet. Some things policy-wise, implementation-wise that we just don’t have good answers for yet,” Porter said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that there is going to be some religious accommodations…there are going to be some medical issues that are allowed to not have the vaccination,” he said.
Porter refrained from urging Wyoming military department employees to get vaccinated prior to the mandate.
“I think it’s pretty clear that the covid vaccination is going to become part of all the vaccinations that the department of defense gives. Ya know, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, poliovirus, annual influenza, all of those kinds of required vaccinations, COVID is going to become a part of,” Porter said.
Austin concluded the memo saying, “All FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines are safe and highly effective. They will protect you and your family. They will protect your unit, your ship, and your co-workers. And they will ensure we remain the most lethal and ready force in the world. Get the shot. Stay healthy. Stay ready.”
