By Oren Liebermann, Ellie Kaufman and Devan Cole | CNN
Nearly 40% of U.S. Marines refuse vaccinations against Covid-19, according to data the service provided to CNN on Friday, the first affiliate to release numbers across the service on acceptance and refusal.
As of Thursday, approximately 75,500 Marines have received vaccines, including fully vaccinated and partially vaccinated duty men and women. About 48,000 Marines have opted not to receive vaccines, against a 38.9% drop-off rate.
CNN has reached out to the other services for acceptance and rejection rates.
The corresponding vaccination acceptance rate among Marines – 61.1% – is not far off from the military estimate of two-thirds, or about 66%.
Another 102,000 Marines have not yet been offered the vaccines. The total number of Marines includes active duty, reserves and individual mobilization augmented marines.
According to another set of data provided to CNN, the declination rate at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, one of the Marine Corps’ prominent bases, was much higher at 57%. Of the 26,400 Marines who received vaccinations, 15,100 chose not to receive them, a number that includes both II Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Installation East – Camp Lejeune. Another 11,500 active Marines will be offered the vaccines.
“We fully understand that the wide acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccine provides us with the best tools to beat the pandemic. The key to tackling the pandemic is building confidence in the vaccine, ”Marine Corps spokeswoman Colonel Kelly Frushour told CNN in a statement.
Frushour said there are a number of possible reasons a Marine might choose not to get a vaccine, including allowing others to get it first, waiting for it to become mandatory, getting it through other channels. or be allergic to the vaccine.
“Service workers who one day refuse can change their mind and be vaccinated when the opportunity arises,” she said.
CNN reported last month that the vaccination rejection rate among service workers could be nearly 50%, a number noticeably higher than the 33% that defense officials have used publicly.
The military cannot make the vaccines mandatory now, because they only have emergency use authorizations from the Food and Drug Administration, which means that service workers who must receive a range of other vaccinations have the option to deny shots to protect against Covid-19.
Officials say most hesitation about vaccines stems from concerns about the speed at which the vaccines were developed and fears of long-term effects.
The Ministry of Defense has approximately 2.2 million military personnel operating around the world. For every 10 percentage point drop in the acceptance rate, that’s 220,000 people who choose not to receive vaccines, a number potentially large enough to influence readiness to coercion. Last year, the military experienced a handful of high-profile Covid outbreaks, including one aboard an aircraft carrier deployed in the Pacific.
Last month, a group of Democratic lawmakers called on President Joe Biden to issue a “waiver of informed consent” to make vaccination against Covid-19 mandatory for all US military personnel. influencing service personnel to opt out of vaccination.