President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the mid-morning attack. On Friday, President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023, which repeals the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for service members. Commercial airlines has said, you know what, were gonna lift the mask mandate. Jared Serbu: Mike, thanks for being here. If you want to swap with me, and they do that through the employer, or their employer offers that. A 5th Circuit panel rejected the Biden administrations request to block the judges order. The only difference is really is that each branch of the military has their own internal regulations and policies for how they adjudicate these things. In fact, as of Dec. 17, the religious accommodation requests of at least 29 of the 35 naval plaintiffs had been flatly denied. Indeed, Defendants employed such measures during the prior year before COVID-19 vaccines were made widely available.. "Former Soldiers may petition the Army Discharge Review Board and the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to request corrections to their records," the service's press release said. Plaintiffs, therefore, do not object to safety measures that reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace, it reads. In his order, OConnor granted an injunction against the Biden administration and the Department of Defense, preventing them from enforcing the vaccine mandate against any of the named service members who had applied for a religious exemption. 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. I mean, this is quickly becoming a national security issue for our nation. Please contact Susan Rushkowski at publicfiledc@hubbardradio.com or (202) 895-5027. Our lawsuit is certainly centered on religious exemption, but our lawsuit is broader than that to block the mandate in general of a non-FDA approved product, Staver said. According to the First Liberty Institute, the public interest law firm representing the service members, each of the denials appeared to be identical, suggesting the Navy had not taken any of the religious exemption requests seriously. The Navy began issuing guidance to sailors earlier this month. [Many] didnt even know that there was a religious exemption option, because they had never been informed of it, Staver said. The fetal cells were not used to produce either vaccine, National Geographic reported last fall. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly. 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. The Texas case has smaller aspirations purposely, Berry said. They argue that their. Whats clear is that the COVID-19 has broken open a bit of a wormhole in the military. The temporary restraining order means the military cannot punish airmen and Space Force guardians whose application for a religious exemption to one of the federally endorsed vaccines was denied or is still being processed. That includes protection from an adverse action while their exemptions are in process, a key part of the complaint, according to one of the attorneys on the lawsuit, which alleges that the plaintiffs have been removed from their jobs, flagged for promotion or otherwise hampered during the exemption process. The Heritage Foundation, a petitioner in the case challenging the private-sector vaccine mandate,has asked the courtto invalidate the governments order. 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. 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. Produced by Will Reid , Rob Szypko . 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. US Military To Face COVID-19 Vaccine Lawsuit February 18, 2023. But it may not take a lawsuit for the issue to change the environment when it comes to mandatory vaccination. Is there any assurance on the record, that there will be no deployment decisions based on vaccination? Judge James Ho, one of three judges hearing the case asked Department of Justice lawyer Casen Ross. 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. 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. Religious freedom laws are set up to avoid a circumstance where the Navy, or the military or the government, is doing a faith test, to determine whether or not you really believe what youre supposed to believe, Griffin said. Thats really prohibited by the by the courts considering these types of cases. Plaintiffs do not believe that staying true to their faith means exposing themselves or others to unnecessary risk, according to the filing. 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. Rabies shots are required only for some service members in certain career fields. Other plaintiffs focus not on the abortion issue, but on several Bible passages that refer to the body as a temple. If the court certifies the class does the class become all unvaccinated airmen or everyone whos been denied a religious exemption? More than 60 service members have joined lawsuits against the U.S. government, alleging that the military's process for awarding religious vaccine exemptions is a sham. 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. In the filing, attorneys argue that the plaintiffs are facing criminal conviction and dishonorable discharge, which would strip them of any veterans benefits. 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. 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. The military across the board is discriminating discriminating against people of faith. Yes, many of them have brought that and its a rubber stamp rejection, he said. The judge agreed, issuing an injunction against discipline for the sailors on Jan. 3. Court documents show that two plaintiffs in Doster v. Kendall took the two-dose Covaxin vaccine, created in India, to comply with the Pentagons requirement. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Fox News U.S. Theyre not pleasant. Adam Rawnsley. OConnor ruled that the blanket denial of their religious waiver requests amounted to a violation of the service members rights under the First Amendment andthe Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Mike Barry:It would be everyone who is requested and been denied a religious accommodation from the vaccine mandates, specifically the COVID vaccine mandate. And they have different ranks, different different job responsibilities in the Air Force, a number of them are actually pilots in the Air Force. They had been told to get certain vaccines or other things without even be notified of a religious objection.. And thats why this is a sham.Jared Serbu: The Air Force case is a putative class action. Nearly 1,500 more people are exempt for medical or administrative reasons, such as severe allergic reactions or upcoming retirement. 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. More than a dozen unidentified U.S. service members have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Defense Department's COVID-19 vaccine order, saying they have natural immunity from. 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. This disparity of treatment between medical and religious exemptions was constitutionally prohibited,Judge Reed OConnor said. Copyright 2023 Military.com. A dozen U.S. Air Force officers have filed a lawsuit . 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 though Bidens vaccine mandate for military personnel has been rescinded. The Navy has, however, granted medical exemption requests submitted by other personnel. 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. I mean, all of it is just fraught with ideological purpose, and suspected purpose.. There is no military exclusion from our Constitution. They dont offer what are, in the legal speak, we call advisory opinions. Pope Francis has called vaccination against COVID-19 a moral obligation and an act of love., Frequently people let themselves be influenced by the ideology of the moment, often bolstered by baseless information or poorly documented facts, he said in January, adding that vaccines are not a magical means of healing, yet surely they represent, in addition to other treatments that need to be developed, the most reasonable solution for the prevention of the disease.. -- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Subscribe to Federal Drives daily audio interviews onApple PodcastsorPodcastOne. The Biden Administration has previously admitted that it is not the federal government's role to enforce vaccine mandates. More than 60 service members have joined lawsuits against the U.S. government, alleging that the military's process for awarding religious vaccine exemptions is a sham. A timeline of when vaccines are due was left up to the . And so all of them have requested religious accommodations from the vaccine mandate, which is, of course, something that DoD regulations and even federal law, clearly permit and allow. Were going from a 50-step process to a zero-step process? Duncan asked. 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. 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. Jehovahs Witnesses, who ban military service for their members, are probably the most prominent. For the Texas case, its more likely those sailors will receive religious exemptions, but that they wont necessarily change the way the military mandates vaccines or reviews exemptions. Both cases are in a wait-and-see phase, where judges have granted injunctions against any discipline for vaccine refusal while the government responds to requests for information. And at least in the Starbucks is that Ive been in recently where theyve been packed in like sardines. Im willing to go through that. And usually when somebody is willing to go through those measures, that demonstrates a degree of sincerity. I know, off the top of my head, the number in the Navy is somewhere near 4,100. They become the exception and not the norm. AFLDS has also pushed ivermectin and. U.S. Military Service Members with Natural Immunity File Lawsuit over COVID Vaccine Mandate. All rights reserved. Otherwise, the courts are going to be flooded with thousands of lawsuits, he said. 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. On Jan. 10, the DOD officially rescinded its Aug. 24, 2021, and Nov. 30, 2021, memoranda mandating that all members of the U.S. military, including the National Guard and Ready Reserves, take the emergency use authorization COVID-19 shots or face discharge and other disciplinary measures. Vaccine refusers often state that the use of fetal cell lines in the creation of the shots conflicts with their views on abortion. 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 . More than 8,400 troops were forced out of the military for refusing to obey a lawful order when they declined to get the vaccine. Lawyers for a group of Navy SEALS and other Navy personnel who refuse to be vaccinated for religious reasons told a 5th U.S. 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. Nov. 2, 2021. 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. The policy does allow commanders to "implement Health Protection Measures at any time or manner deemed necessary in support of operational safety and effectiveness." . Other federal court challenges to various COVID-19 vaccine mandates are ongoing. 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. 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. Theyre not following their own regulations. More than 60 service members have joined lawsuits against the U.S. government, alleging that the militarys process for awarding religious vaccine exemptions is a sham.