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Ho and Judge Kyle Duncan noted that the administration had only reluctantly ended the military mandate after December congressional action, but Ross assured the panel that there are no plans to bring back the requirement. And I have yet to hear of a single flight being canceled because there was a COVID outbreak at 30,000 feet. The chief of Irans nuclear program, Mohammad Eslami, acknowledged the findings of the IAEA report. Pfizer and Modernas mRNA products used cells replicated from a fetus aborted in the 1970s to make sure the vaccines worked in human cells. Commercial airlines has said, you know what, were gonna lift the mask mandate. msn back to msn home news Skip To Navigation Jared Serbu: Got it. Quite the contrary, they view life whether their own or that of their fellow servicemembers as sacred and deserving protection.. The Justice Department intends to appeal the Texas ruling, while a temporary injunction in the Florida case expires Friday. 26 Feb 2023 11:38:25 11. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said in the press release that the service is still, however, encouraging vaccinations. We are hemorrhaging people like crazy, and were having a really hard time recruiting capable people to join our military. Just because of the just incredibly political nature of, of all of it, from the virus to the vaccine to the mandates, Marshall Griffin, a retired Coast Guard judge advocate who now practices privately, told Military Times on Monday. Also missing from the lawsuits are any new religious conversion, or simply the possibility that they were previously unaware of the role of replicated fetal stem cells in pharmaceutical development, that would explain why they never objected to any vaccines or medications before. The Navy already denied these exemptions, but O'Connor. And they have different ranks, different different job responsibilities in the Air Force, a number of them are actually pilots in the Air Force. The Marine Corps confirmed to a California congressman that two of those Marines were preparing to leave the service, while another one is doing a Training With Industry assignment. Because they will not compromise these religious beliefs, Plaintiffs have been threatened with separation from the military and other disciplinary action. Overall, scientific evidence indicates that the benefits of vaccines largely . None of the plaintiffs clarify whether they engage in any other behavior that might be seen as a desecration of that temple, whether its alcohol, drugs, unprotected sex or in the case of the Old Testament tattoos and piercings. Indeed, Defendants employed such measures during the prior year before COVID-19 vaccines were made widely available.. But it may not take a lawsuit for the issue to change the environment when it comes to mandatory vaccination. WASHINGTON (AP) A bill to rescind the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense passed the House on Thursday as. Under the law, theres no requirement that you adhere to a major or even recognized faith tradition, he said. "I am proud of the efforts the Department of the Army has taken to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic," Wormuth said. The Navy began issuing guidance to sailors earlier this month. The military's COVID-19 vaccine was repealed after the National Defense Authorization Act passed and was signed into law this month. Mondays arguments were heard by Duncan and Ho, both nominated to the 5th Circuit by President Donald Trump, and James Graves, a nominee of President Barack Obama. Each of those shots also involves cell tissue derived from fetuses, as does one version of the rabies vaccine. Sarah Parshall Perry is a senior legal fellow for the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Many religious exemption applications have explained that the service members werent aware of the use of fetal stem cells prior to all of the controversy over the COVID-19 vaccine, but for the purposes of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, they dont have to explain themselves. The government really cant scrutinize belief very far.. On Monday, Heather Hacker, an attorney for the Navy personnel, said the situation could be seen as worse now for them now that the older mandate policy has been rescinded, because current policy does not provide for a sailors religious objections to the vaccine to be considered when deployment or assignment decisions are made. Staver, the attorney for the Florida plaintiffs, said his clients have shared their exemption rejection letters, which do not detail specifically why their requests werent approved. Im very confident that this case going to the Supreme Court, Mat Staver whose Liberty Counsel represents plaintiffs in the Florida case told Military Times on Tuesday. The . More than 800 unvaccinated service members have been ousted from the Air Force so far. Military service members have. The Supreme Court is reviewing a legal shield that tech companies have long relied on to avoid liability for content on their platforms. death from COVID-19 vaccines administered after the declaration ends would be addressed in court under tort law unless the COVID-19 vaccines are added to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP; 42 U.S.C. They are, theyre ignoring the law, theyre ignoring the Constitution. WASHINGTON The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the. Additionally, "promotion records will be corrected by the [Department of the Air Force] who will remove or redact all adverse actions related to vaccine refusal," according to a Friday press release. All the things that, you know, that the Navy was doing to harass and punish sailors we basically wanted that to all stop, Mike Berry, a former Marine judge advocate and now vice president at First Liberty Institute, which represents the Texas plaintiffs, told Military Times on Wednesday. The military across the board is discriminating discriminating against people of faith. 1:51:01 Awkward Andrea Mitchell lectures MSNBC reporter about using term "pro-life" 2:09:32 Baby "chop shop" FOIA lawsuit. Most of the plaintiffs express some sort of Christian faith, though the vast majority of denominations have no formal ban on vaccination. Editors note: This story has been updated with information from the hearing. The service branches must notify the Pentagon that they've made the changes no later than March 17. More:Dark money group targets Oklahoma Gov. Mike Barry:Well, I mean, thats the beauty of the way that the law works, right? The Biden Administration has previously admitted that it is not the federal government's role to enforce vaccine mandates. The new policy guidance to the services makes no mention of reinstating service members who were separated from the military for refusing the shot. Theres a case to be made for turning these lawsuits into class action matters, Staver said, so that individual service members dont have to sue or just another case. U.S. Military Service Members with Natural Immunity File Lawsuit over COVID Vaccine Mandate. So for example, in a different context, somebody who says that theyre a Sabbath observer, and they cannot work on the Sabbath, but that theyre willing to trade ships with somebody, most of the cases Ive seen, theyre actually willing to take, what most people consider be a less favorable shift. Attorneys for the unvaccinated Navy personnel argued in briefs to the 5th Circuit that Austins memo and other Defense Department actions show that the Navy still intends to treat unvaccinated personnel like second-class citizens because of their religious beliefs.. Members face the same injury: violation of their constitutional freedom by defendants clear policy of discrimination against religious accommodation requests, wrote McFarland, of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Ohio. The fetal cells were not used to produce either vaccine, National Geographic reported last fall. However, in a strange turn of events, while Bolsonaro was eating Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes in Orlando, a group of Bolsonaristas (supporters of Bolsonaro) attacked the Brazilian Supreme Court, Congress, and Presidential Palace in Brasilia and called for a military coup.Lula blamed Bolsonaro personally for the attacks; Moraes quickly moved to suspend Brasilia's governor and security chief . Hes one of the attorneys representing the airmen challenging the mandate, and he spoke more to Jared Serbu on theFederal Drive with Tom Temin. "We will continue to promote and encourage COVID-19 vaccination for all personnel to ensure readiness, facilitate mission accomplishment, and protect the force.". And in some cases, according to some reports, its even more durable than the vaccine and you dont have to get boosters and things like that. "Marines will defer to Combatant Command policies regarding deployments.". Otherwise, the courts are going to be flooded with thousands of lawsuits, he said. I mean, all of it is just fraught with ideological purpose, and suspected purpose.. Given the prevailing public health guidelines and the state of the virus, there is currently no intention to require universal vaccination of all service members, Ross said. Produced by Will Reid , Rob Szypko . Plaintiffs, therefore, do not object to safety measures that reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace, it reads. A timeline of when vaccines are due was left up to the . And so of course, that means you have to bring different lawsuits on behalf of people, depending on what branch of the military that theyre in. Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine syringes at a vaccination clinic in the Peabody Institute Library in Peabody, Massachusetts, on Jan. 26, 2022. (U.S. Navy) Two service members filed a class action lawsuit against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to halt a mandate that all troops receive the coronavirus vaccine and create an exemption. "This guidance is a promise of what the Air Force is saying it will do," Bruns told Military.com. So if they work Sunday afternoon, or if theyre scheduled to work a particular Sunday afternoon, they say, Well, Im a Sabbath observer on Sundays. And one of the reasons for that is if they if theyre between the ages of 17 and 23, and theyre not vaccinated, were not even willing to talk to them. And so theyre basically closing off an entire segment of society in a discriminatory manner. And that is textbook discrimination, right? Another claimant, a Muslim Marine Corps captain, who said that his religious beliefs that require him to abstain from participation in that which is haram forbidden including the destruction and commoditization of innocent human life as exemplified by the use of human fetal cell lines derived from abortions, according to the lawsuit. And what if this is political ideology masquerading as as religious piety? The policy does allow commanders to "implement Health Protection Measures at any time or manner deemed necessary in support of operational safety and effectiveness." Military leaders have long argued that to maintain unit health and troop readiness, troops have for decades been required to get as many as 17 vaccines, particularly those who are deploying overseas. Theyre usually willing to accept that and say, look, yeah, Im happy to. They argue that their. The lawsuit filed by Air Force members and other federal employees claims that "the US Constitution and numerous federal laws make it unlawful to compel persons to be vaccinated." The plaintiffs. Although certain COVID-19 vaccines are associated with a slightly increased risk of blood clotting or heart inflammation, COVID-19 itself is associated with a higher rate of these and other conditions. We are kicking out people by the thousands. And, in fact, the Department of Defense allows medical exemptions and administrative exemptions from the vaccine. Complainants push back on the militarys position that remaining unvaccinated endangers the force and undermines national security, since the vast majority of troops have received all of a one- or two-shot regimen. The lawsuit, in which 14 men and two women serving in the military are named as plaintiffs, names U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, three U.S. military service secretaries and other. (Susan Walsh/AP, File). The number of exemptions has fluctuated over the last several months as some people decided to get the shots or leave the service instead of seeking accommodation. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. FILE - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022. Jared Serbu: This case seems remarkably similar to another case that I think First Liberty was also counsel on with a group of Navy SEALs before the very same judge, I believe too. The Coast Guard issued guidance Monday announcing it was "taking action to remove" all administrative remark entries related to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate from reserve and active-duty records. Right? Theres yet another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the militarys COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Still, the organization said Covaxin is still a safe and effective product. Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. In one of many ongoing federal lawsuits challenging COVID-19 vaccine mandates across the country, Judge Reed O'Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a group . Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine was developed and cleared for emergency use in eight months a fact . There are some notable caveats. And yet people who work and I mean, youre coming in very close proximity with thousands of people per day, hundreds of people per hour. The next stop in the litigation is likely to be an appeal by the Department of Defense and the Biden administration to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The government has since filed a notice that it plans to appeal the decision. More than 1 million Americans have died from COVID-19 since the virus began spreading in December 2019, and the U.S. has recorded around 89 million cases. The three coronavirus vaccines currently available in the United Statesthe Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and, as of Saturday, the Johnson & Johnson versionsare approved on "emergency use. In the filing, attorneys argue that the plaintiffs are facing criminal conviction and dishonorable discharge, which would strip them of any veterans benefits. They include the small risk of myocarditis, which has anecdotally occurred in 1,626 U.S. residents out of more than 200 million fully vaccinated, with the highest risk in men under 24. All rights reserved. NEW ORLEANS Federal appeals court judges closely questioned a Biden administration attorney Monday on the consequences military personnel might face for refusing COVID-19 vaccinations, even. If the court certifies the class does the class become all unvaccinated airmen or everyone whos been denied a religious exemption? This disparity of treatment between medical and religious exemptions was constitutionally prohibited,OConnor said: As a brief preview, the vaccine mandate fails strict scrutiny. And at least in the Starbucks is that Ive been in recently where theyve been packed in like sardines. Washington Technology Power Breakfast: Cyber Command planning intelligence center, TSP contractor promises more improvements, for other communicable diseases and infections, FOIA backlogs on the rise after record number of requests, Revived bills would alter feds payment obligations during shutdowns, federal first responders pensions, VA launches equity task force to address disparity in benefits decisions based on race, White House $1.6B COVID fraud plan gives federal watchdogs increased staffing, VA deputy secretary, leader on EHR rollout and customer experience, is stepping down. Only the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is manufactured using fetal cell lines. As part of the exemption process, service members are required to meet with a chaplain to work through their concerns. Top Pentagon officials do not plan to alter their current "lawful orders" requiring the coronavirus shots for troops, unless they are granted waivers for medical or religious purposes, the. Theyll accept that alternative and say, okay, you know, Im willing to do that instead. And yet were short, were saying that were having a hard time recruiting people. Other plaintiffs focus not on the abortion issue, but on several Bible passages that refer to the body as a temple. The lawsuit attempts to overturn Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's order that active-duty service members are required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. The decision sets the stage for a future trial or, possibly, the case winding its way up to the Supreme Court.