Mike Barry:Well, I mean, thats the beauty of the way that the law works, right? Jared Serbu: Mike, thanks for being here. I know, off the top of my head, the number in the Navy is somewhere near 4,100. The lawyers for the biggest lawsuit against the service said that, after the Navy's policy change on deployment, they were "still assessing the impact of this policy on our Navy SEAL clients and more than 4000 class members," according to a statement released Thursday night. Hubbard Radio Washington DC, LLC. Here, Plaintiffs must decide whether to lose their livelihoods or violate sincerely held religious beliefs. COVID-19 vaccines are proven to be very safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. Based on his Roman Catholic Christian faith and absolute opposition to abortion, he cannot accept a vaccine that has been manufactured, or whose efficacy has been tested and proved, using aborted fetal cells, the Florida lawsuit alleges, on behalf of a Coast Guard pilot. Kevin Stitt with Fox News ads 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. FILE - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022. 300aa-10-300aa-44). And I havent heard of a single Starbucks shutting down. The fetal cells were not used to produce either vaccine, National Geographic reported last fall. A U.S. Navy officer is suing the leaders of the Defense Department and the Navy because they have denied his waiver requests to exempt him from getting the mandated COVID-19 vaccine. Sixty-seven percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. The latest class action targets the Air Forces religious accommodation process, arguing that process is set up in such a way that getting a religious exemption to the vaccine is almost impossible. The government responded to the lawsuit by pointing out that immunization requirements are common in the military beginning with the Continental Army under George Washington and that vaccines and are essential to preventing the transmission of diseases in close quarters. Jared Serbu: Last thing, theres a lot of these vaccine cases, even just military vaccine cases floating around in various district courts and circuits the moment. The lawsuit also fails to mention an established precedent regarding vaccines in religious traditions. Mike Barry: I think theres almost 30 now. Two staff sergeants, one Army, one Marine, have filed a lawsuit against three federal agencies, challenging plans to conduct mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations of military troops. Jared Serbu: I want to go back to what you said earlier about the process being a sham, because I want to try and draw how much of an issue that actually is, in these cases. Tom Temin is host of the Federal Drive and has been providing insight on federal technology and management issues for more than 30 years. Another plaintiff is fighting in court after trying to retire one alternative to vaccination the Air Force offered. The soldier and Marine also want their case escalated into a class action lawsuit to take in other military personnel plus Department of Defense contractors. So everywhere else in society has been able to figure this out, but our military hasnt because they take such an iron fisted, draconian approach to everything. Vaccine refusers often state that the use of fetal cell lines in the creation of the shots conflicts with their views on abortion. Telling Plaintiffs they must accept or receive a shot they oppose according to their sincerely held religious beliefs, or face court martial, dishonorable discharge, and other life altering disciplinary measures, disgraces the sacrifices these heroes have made, according to the lawsuit. 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The decision sets the stage for a future trial or, possibly, the case winding its way up to the Supreme Court. The Navy has, however, granted medical exemption requests submitted by other personnel. The Army also announced in a Friday press release that ongoing reviews of COVID vaccine exemption requests, records of soldiers who requested COVID vaccine exemptions, vaccine requirements for accessions or pre-commissioning programs, and travel restrictions based solely on COVID vaccination status will be removed or amended. President Biden declared "the pandemic is over," yet is still pushing to discharge thousands of religious service members for their objections to taking the COVID-19 vaccine. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. msn back to msn home news Skip To Navigation Fox News U.S. Nor do they mention the host of common medications that also use these stem cells, including Tylenol, Advil/Motrin, aspirin, Tums, Pepto Bismol, Benadryl, Sudafed and Claritin. Overall, scientific evidence indicates that the benefits of vaccines largely . "This guidance is a promise of what the Air Force is saying it will do," Bruns told Military.com. The same day the Pentagon set the deadline for the services, several of the branches -- namely the Army and Air Force -- began issuing their guidance, which stated they would remove or correct adverse actions in records related to vaccine refusal. Her work has appeared in Air Force Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy, the Frederick News-Post (Md. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on Monday blocking the Defense Department from taking action against a group of 35 Navy sailors who had refused to get a coronavirus vaccine,. The government has recently ordered imminent punitive action against those men and women of faith who cannot in good conscience take these experimental vaccines, and this order stops the government in its tracks, Adam Hochschild, a lawyer with the Thomas More Society and lead counsel in Air Force Officer v. Austin, said in a release. . I think that a process that is not a sham looks a little bit something like the military regardless of what branch were talking about, takes an honest look and says okay, what is this persons job or their function? A 5th Circuit panel rejected the Biden administrations request to block the judges order. 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. The . The content of this website reflects the current thinking of the United States Department of Health and Human Services on the topics addressed and does not create or confer any rights for or on any person and does not operate to bind the Department or the public. If you want to swap with me, and they do that through the employer, or their employer offers that. 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Army leadership has been eyeing the possibility of a mandated COVID-19 vaccine this summer, including in a June information paper originating from the Army's health care operations directorate . Sarah Parshall Perry is a senior legal fellow for the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. So our lawsuit is really predicated on on the argument that this is all a sham, that the Air Force is not following the Constitution. The government has since filed a notice that it plans to appeal the decision. The story seems pretty similar to whats going on with these airmen. The Marine Corps had fielded 3,500 religious waiver requests, granting three, in addition to about 250 medical waivers and 400 other administrative approvals. The service branches must notify the Pentagon that they've made the changes no later than March 17. A timeline of when vaccines are due was left up to the . Nov. 2, 2021. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act sets a low bar for proving ones religious beliefs, in that if someone states them, they are assumed to be sincere. 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 . Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine was developed and cleared for emergency use in eight months a fact . The Navy already denied these exemptions, but O'Connor. Then in April, the WHO warned that supplier Bharat Biotech had stopped production because of deficiencies in good manufacturing practices.. Through much prayer and reflection, Plaintiffs have sought wisdom, understanding, and guidance on the proper decisions to make concerning these COVID-19 vaccines, and Plaintiffs have been convicted by the Holy Spirit that accepting any of the three currently available vaccines is against the teachings of Scripture and would be a sin, according to a Florida lawsuit first filed in late 2021, then amended on Feb. 7 with additional plaintiffs. 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. Of course, that came because of a federal judges ruling. The chief of Irans nuclear program, Mohammad Eslami, acknowledged the findings of the IAEA report. If the court certifies the class does the class become all unvaccinated airmen or everyone whos been denied a religious exemption? Our military, I mean, you can open any news feed that you want. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said in the press release that the service is still, however, encouraging vaccinations. For a population accustomed to having very little power over their personal decisions where they live, what they wear, how they cut their hair, how much they weigh the opportunity to have some control over their medical decisions is an enormous discovery. There are fresh concerns that public support for ongoing military assistance may be waning. The Florida case, in a 187-page complaint, takes measures much further. Subscribe to Federal Drives daily audio interviews onApple PodcastsorPodcastOne. Unlike VARES that is questioned a lot by the totally compromised medical establishment for accuracy, the U.S. military DMED (Defense Medical Epidemiology Database) reporting system is only submitted by military doctors and qualifies every single ICD (International Classification of Diseases) code in the military for Tricare billing to Humana Insurance covering over 6 million military personal. And then if you come back and you say, oh, no, but my exemption is a medical exemption [see Contraindications and Precautions]not a religious exemption, then the military says, Oh, well, in that case, we welcome you with open arms. But nevertheless, how many, I fly almost on a weekly basis for my job. All of the military services are currently reworking their policies to adjust separation and promotion records for service members who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, after the Pentagon ended the inoculation mandate last month. 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. Right? A ruling in that case, issued this past November by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, upheld previous wins by attorneys representing the service members over the last year and took aim at the Air Force's process of approving religious exemptions. I mean, all of it is just fraught with ideological purpose, and suspected purpose.. A vaccine lawsuit is filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, instead of regular state or federal courts like other drug injury claims. 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Punishing SEALs for simply asking for a religious accommodation is purely vindictive and punitive. The military across the board is discriminating discriminating against people of faith. Several lawsuits have been filed by sailors opposing the mandate and challenging the Navy's approach to reviewing the religious exemption requests. Theyre usually willing to accept that and say, look, yeah, Im happy to. Technology Artificial Intelligence Ask the CIO Automation Big Data CIO News Cloud Computing Cybersecurity IT Modernization Open Data/Transparency Reporter's Notebook Defense On DoD Army Navy Air Force But their. Same thing on airplanes, right? Dr Terry Adirim, the government bureaucrat behind the infamous and unlawful Pentagon vaccine mandate, will "leave her post in the coming days," reports FedScoop. New family, former Corvias employee join lawsuit against Fort . And thats why this is a sham.Jared Serbu: The Air Force case is a putative class action. 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. Just because the plaintiffs identify as a member of one religion or another doesnt mean they need to follow every tradition, according to Griffin, the former Coast Guard lawyer, nor would they need to justify why they are religiously opposed to the COVID-19 vaccine in particular. And to say, basically, no, you will do this because we said so and if you dont, were gonna kick you out. All rights reserved. There is no verifiable evidence that COVID-19 vaccines have killed, or will kill, more military personnel than the disease itself. This whole thing is really unprecedented, right? 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.. A federal court in Ohio on Thursday blocked the Air Force from enforcing the militarys coronavirus vaccine mandate for two weeks, a short-term win for airmen fighting multiple legal battles against inoculation. As of Tuesday, the Air Force had denied about 6,800 initial religious waiver requests and 3,600 appeals, and has not ruled on nearly 3,500 more cases. But it may not take a lawsuit for the issue to change the environment when it comes to mandatory vaccination. 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. Right? To date, no members of the Army or Space Force have received a religious exemption, though nine airmen and three Marines have been approved. "We will continue to promote and encourage COVID-19 vaccination for all personnel to ensure readiness, facilitate mission accomplishment, and protect the force.". Rabies shots are required only for some service members in certain career fields. And lets start by talking a bit about your clients, where they are in the Air Force vaccine exemption process and what led you to file the suit? The World Health Organization approved Covaxin for emergency use in late 2021, making it a viable option for airmen who object to the three main U.S. shots. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the mid-morning attack. In the filing, attorneys argue that the plaintiffs are facing criminal conviction and dishonorable discharge, which would strip them of any veterans benefits. Dr. Lee Merritt, a self-described Navy surgeon, stated during an . The new policy guidance to the services makes no mention of reinstating service members who were separated from the military for refusing the shot. The Navy on Wednesday announced it had granted one waiver to a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, a non-drilling service member, who would have to get vaccinated should he or she come on orders. The U.S . The problem here is that the government is simply unwilling to offer any compromises. This piece originally appeared in The Daily Signal. On August 30, both Robert and Mulvihill asked U.S. District Court Judge Raymond Moore for a temporary restraining order regarding the vaccinations for military members who have already been. However, vaccine opponents note that commanders can still make decisions on how and whether to deploy unvaccinated troops, under a memo signed last month by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The policy does allow commanders to "implement Health Protection Measures at any time or manner deemed necessary in support of operational safety and effectiveness." Are there major differences here? The Supreme Court ruled in March 2022 that the sea service was allowed to reassign sailors who had refused the shot and filed exemption requests to nonoperational commands. Everyone who joins the military must receive a slate of several vaccines to enter, including chickenpox, rubella and hepatitis A. Whats clear is that the COVID-19 has broken open a bit of a wormhole in the military. Pfizer Inc wants to intervene in a Texas federal lawsuit seeking information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration used in licensing the company's COVID-19 vaccine, a litigation move that . Thomas Bruns, a Cincinnati-based attorney with Bruns, Connell, Vollmar & Armstrong representing the service members, told Military.com on Monday that the service members in that case are promised full relief from any harms caused by the mandate. Were pleased that the court has acted to protect our brave warriors before more damage is done to our national security. So that, right now that number is several thousand. Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. Most of the plaintiffs express some sort of Christian faith, though the vast majority of denominations have no formal ban on vaccination. Indeed, Defendants employed such measures during the prior year before COVID-19 vaccines were made widely available.. The Texas lawsuit also states the plaintiffs are willing to continue to wear masks, social distance and take mandatory COVID-19 tests, rather than get vaccinated. The group includes 14 men and two women. 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. Mike Barry:Well, First Liberty Institute represents nine Air Force members who are challenging the Air Forces enforcement of its vaccine mandate. 2:14:14 Pentagon exploring back pay for troops kicked out of military over vaccine mandate. Lawyers are waiting to see if a federal court in Georgia will stop the vaccine mandate nationwide through another class-action preliminary injunction as well. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly. Subscribe on PodcastOne or Apple Podcasts. In fact, as of Dec. 17, the religious accommodation requests of at least 29 of the 35 naval plaintiffs had been flatly denied. Any sailors who submitted a religious exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine can continue in the Navy under the injunction, according to NAVADMIN 102/22. Government lawyers argue the policy is in line with well-established principles of judicial noninterference with core military decision making, in their briefs. And they have different ranks, different different job responsibilities in the Air Force, a number of them are actually pilots in the Air Force. Ryan Bruce, a Marine Corps spokesman, told Military.com. Jared Serbu: Got it. Judge Matthew McFarlands decision brings the case, Doster v. Kendall, closer to trial as a class-action lawsuit. 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Federal News Network's DoD Cloud Exchange: From enterprise to the tactical edge discover how the Defense Department and military services intend to advance their use of cloud technologies. Theres been a lot of great saints that have gone to prison, so Im willing to do that.. The Army reported about 1,300 religious requests, none of which have been approved, as well as six medical exemptions. Theyre basically saying, Nope, the vaccine is the only way that were going to allow you to continue to remain in the service. And one of the things I forgot to mention was the whole concept of natural immunity. All 16 service members joined the lawsuit anonymously, listing in the filing only their currently assigned bases and statuses in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or reserve components.
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