The Food and Drug Administration’s approval Monday of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine set off a new round of vaccine mandates.
The approval triggered the military making the shot mandatory, John Kirby, the Department of Defense’s spokesman, told reporters in Washington.
“We’re going to move forward making that vaccine mandatory. We’re preparing the guidance to the force right now,” he said during a press briefing.
Service members will be required to get the Pfizer vaccine. Two other shots being administered in the United States have not yet received approval.
The mandate was announced last month but was put off because no vaccine had been approved by drug regulators.
Military officials have not yet determined by what date service members will have to be vaccinated.
Service members can apply for religious and medical exemptions, officials said earlier this month.
New York City officials also announced shortly after the approval was made public that all…
Read full story [icon name=”arrow-right” prefix=”fas”] Pentagon Mandates COVID-19 Vaccine After Regulators Approve Pfizer’s Shot