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Law360 (March 24, 2021, 8:02 PM EDT) -- A group of congressional Democrats urged President Joe Biden on Wednesday to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for the military, saying vaccine refusal among service members is being driven by disinformation, which puts national security and public health at risk.
Seven lawmakers led by Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., said in a letter to the president that Biden should issue a waiver of informed consent that would allow the U.S. Department of Defense to require all otherwise-eligible service members to be vaccinated against the coronavirus as soon as possible.
"Requiring DOD to obtain informed consent prior to vaccination is not only harmful to our national security, but contrary to the best interests of service members, their families, communities, and colleagues," they said.
The letter was also signed by Reps. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., Sarah Jacobs, D-Calif., Jim McGovern, D-Mass., Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash., and Marc Veasey, D-Texas.
The DOD can typically mandate service members to take "mission essential" drugs — which includes vaccinations — if those medicines are fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
But for drugs that have emergency use authorization such as the Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, service members must either consent to take the drug or the DOD must obtain a blanket waiver from the president in his role as commander in chief of the military.
DOD officials testified to Congress in February that about a third of service members offered vaccines so far have declined, despite repeated urging from senior department officials including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who has touted his own vaccination as evidence of safety.
Infectious disease experts have estimated that herd immunity to the coronavirus — the point at which enough of the population is immune to make further person-to-person spread unlikely — will require at least 70% of the population to be immune, according to the Mayo Clinic.
There is "overwhelming evidence" in recent media reports of "rampant" disinformation and skepticism within the military regarding the vaccines, the lawmakers said Wednesday, pointing out that sketchy claims made on social media had seemed to outpace the DOD's "admirable efforts to educate service members on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines."
Another aspect of that skepticism is due to "cultural and community concerns" among people of color based in part on "painful history," Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said at a March 1 press briefing, likely a reference to past federal medical studies carried out on communities of color without informed consent.
But waiting for final approval of the vaccines by the FDA before making them mandatory for servicemembers — a process that often takes years for new drugs — would "waste precious time," costing lives and hurting military readiness in the meantime, according to the lawmakers' letter.
A representative for the White House deferred to the DOD for comment on the letter on Wednesday. The DOD said Secretary Austin was aware of the letter, and declined further comment.
--Editing by Steven Edelstone.
Update: This story has been updated to include comment from the DOD.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
