The judge recognized that when he granted our [temporary restraining order] on Feb. 2 because toward the end, he said the public has an interest also in this because these are courageous skilled, individuals who are not easily replaceable, Staver said. Jared Serbu: Mike, thanks for being here. Navy officer sues DOD, Navy leaders over COVID vaccine - Navy Times It took four years and was licensed in 1967. The Navy already denied these exemptions, but O'Connor. 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? 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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. Rabies shots are required only for some service members in certain career fields. Mike Barry:Well, I mean, thats the beauty of the way that the law works, right? This means that you do not need to prove that your injury was caused by a doctor or the vaccine company's mistake. The Florida case, in a 187-page complaint, takes measures much further. All of the military services have released vaccine refusal policies, none of them involving judicial or non-judicial charges for simply staying unvaccinated. Have More Military Personnel Died from COVID Vaccines than Disease I mean, this is quickly becoming a national security issue for our nation. According data submitted in the Florida case on Feb. 8: The services have declined to provide any details about the circumstances of the religious approvals, but both lawsuits allege that at least one of those Marines is due to leave service later this year. 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. Staver believes the Florida case case has a good chance of making it to the Supreme Court, potentially invalidating all government mandates for COVID-19 vaccination. And they have different ranks, different different job responsibilities in the Air Force, a number of them are actually pilots in the Air Force. While it allowed service members to apply for religious exemptions to the mandate, it has not granted a single one. Yet another lawsuit challenging military's - Federal News Network Mike Barry:Well, First Liberty Institute represents nine Air Force members who are challenging the Air Forces enforcement of its vaccine mandate. The US military has approved religious exemptions to its Covid-19 vaccine mandate for 15 service members out of approximately 16,000 requests, according to the latest data from the services. The Air Force has approved 135 religious exemption requests out of thousands submitted so far. The latest lawsuit challenging DoD's COVID-19 vaccine mandate says the Air Force's process makes religious accommodations almost impossible to get. The Bonkers Lawsuit to Stop the Pentagon's Vaccine Mandate 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. Given the prevailing public health guidelines and the state of the virus, there is currently no intention to require universal vaccination of all service members, Ross said. But although the Air Force has approved hundreds of medical and administrative exemptions, they have only approved a very small handful of religious exemptions and even the ones that theyve approved by their own admission, they are only for Air Force members who are basically already separating or are already on their way out. US troops refusing the COVID-19 vaccine: What happens to them? Its just under 4,100. By The Associated Press WASHINGTON 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. It is not yet clear how the various services will handle pending lawsuits that sprang up in the years following the Pentagon's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. (Susan Walsh/AP, File). In response to Military.com stating that the COVID-19 "vaccines have some rare side effects, including heart inflammation that has affected at least 22 service members, according to a study from the JAMA Network," an attorney working with U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, and whistle blowers in the U.S. military are pushing back against . The "rule" and the ways it will be fought 1:43:40 How to fight the NFA and its unconstitutional rule about barrel lengths. 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. Sixty-seven percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. 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In fact, as of Dec. 17, the religious accommodation requests of at least 29 of the 35 naval plaintiffs had been flatly denied. . They dont offer what are, in the legal speak, we call advisory opinions. Theyre not following federal law. The judge's decision impacts 200 to 300 servicemembers stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, who filed the lawsuit against top military leaders back in February. Then in April, the WHO warned that. 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. Plaintiffs do not believe that staying true to their faith means exposing themselves or others to unnecessary risk, according to the filing. On Feb. 17, the service lifted its policy of banning unvaccinated sailors from deploying. The Pentagon directed all the services to "formally rescind any policies, directives, and guidance implementing those vaccination mandates as soon as possible, if they have not already done so," according to a Friday press release. Lawsuits over military vaccine mandate to continue despite DOD 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. 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Another lawsuit, first filed by troops attached to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, has led to temporary protections for around 10,000 active-duty, Active Reserve, reserve and National Guard members of the Air Force and Space Force who requested a religious exemption from the COVID vaccine, although only those who have been denied an exemption would face immediate action. Biden appointee behind unlawful military vaccine mandate to step down. Mike Barry:No, I think what happens is they become much smaller cases, right? So if you can find a way to accommodate somebodys religious beliefs, in a less burdensome way right, a way thats less obstructive or cumbersome on their religious exercise, then if the person is really sincere in their religious beliefs, theyll usually accept that. The plaintiffs argue that violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment. Vaccine refusers often state that the use of fetal cell lines in the creation of the shots conflicts with their views on abortion. Same thing on airplanes, right? Pentagon: Judge's halt of vaccine mandate for - Stars and Stripes T he MAGA medical group that spent the pandemic pushing horse paste and malaria meds as quack COVID cures has a new crusade: suing the Pentagon to stop its vaccine mandate. The new policy guidance to the services makes no mention of reinstating service members who were separated from the military for refusing the shot. U.S. Pushes Back Against Military Vaccine Mandate Lawsuit But if they eventually get consolidated in the Supreme Court grants cert [writs of certiorari] on something that considers the issue more broadly, would you expect that well get a case or a ruling that goes beyond the narrow issue of vaccines and gives the military some guidance as to how RFRA and broader religious accommodation issues apply to the military? Biden sued by Air Force officers who compare vaccine - Ars Technica Our military, I mean, you can open any news feed that you want. The Supreme Court is historically, they only address the legal issues that are brought before them, right. Just because of the just incredibly political nature of, of all of it, from the virus to the vaccine to the mandates, Marshall Griffin, a retired Coast Guard judge advocate who now practices privately, told Military Times on Monday. In the Navy, none of more than 4,000 religious exemptions had been approved, but there were about 252 temporary and 11 permanent medical exemptions. The Justice Department intends to appeal the Texas ruling, while a temporary injunction in the Florida case expires Friday. But their. COVID-19 vaccines are proven to be very safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. Mike Barry: Probably not at the Supreme Court level. There are fresh concerns that public support for ongoing military assistance may be waning. "Marines will defer to Combatant Command policies regarding deployments.". And, in fact, the Department of Defense allows medical exemptions and administrative exemptions from the vaccine. The lawsuit emerges as the latest development in an ongoing fight between state leaders and the federal government as Gov. Hes one of the attorneys representing the airmen challenging the mandate, and he spoke more to Jared Serbu on theFederal Drive with Tom Temin. A federal appellate judge has dealt another blow to the military's coronavirus vaccine mandate by allowing a high-profile class-action lawsuit against the Air Force to move forward. The Navy has, however, granted medical exemption requests submitted by other personnel. "This vaccine mandate is unlawful and does not reflect the Land of the Free," said General O'Connor. Department of Justice seeks dismissal of military vaccine lawsuit 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,. Three of the event's witnesses doctors Jay Bhattacharya, Martin Kulldorf, and Marty Makary are part of a small group of medical experts known as the Norfolk Group. National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program - Health Resources and More than 1.14 million out of the 1.4 million active military members have been fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to DoD data. Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. Per FDA guidance, these two vaccines are interchangeable and DoD health care providers should use doses distributed under the EUA to administer the vaccination series as if the doses were the licensed vaccine, " she wrote. A group of lawsuit plaintiffs, including four Air Force officers and a Secret Service agent, have asked a federal court to block the Biden administration's coronavirus vaccination mandates,. 3 min read POINT PLEASANT, NJ A U.S. Marine from Point Pleasant who was discharged. The number of exemptions has fluctuated over the last several months as some people decided to get the shots or leave the service instead of seeking accommodation. They will also have to make the case that vaccinating, or involuntarily discharging, every service member is the least restrictive means of keeping the force safe from COVID-19, rather than enforcing masking or social distancing or in some cases, grandfathering in troops who acquired some immunity after catching COVID-19. And they recognize that theres almost a presumption of belief. Marine Corps Exceeds 1,000 COVID-19 Vaccine Separations, Navy at 469 Ho and Judge Kyle Duncan noted that the administration had only reluctantly ended the military mandate after December congressional action, but Ross assured the panel that there are no plans to bring back the requirement. On Jan. 7,the Supreme Court is set to hear oral argumentsin a set of high-profile, consolidated cases on the Biden administrations vaccine mandates for private-sector entities with 100 or more employees, and for health care facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funding. CBC News reached out multiple times to Galati, who is listed as the spokesperson for the lawsuit in a press release issued by Vaccine Choice Canada. The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines do not need fetal cell lines for development or production but were tested on fetal cell lines replicated from a fetus aborted in the 1970s to ensure their efficacy. Court Delivers Win to Military Members Denied Religious Exemptions From Pentagon Vaccine Mandate, SCOTUS 101: Student Loans and Major Questions, Unpacking the Oral Arguments Against Bidens Student Loan Cancellation, Appeals Court Steals Show on ERA Amid Senate Panels Bid to Resurrect Dead Amendment, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments. Similar suits have been brought throughout the country by service members across the military branches. When you treat people who have a medical exemption for more favorably than you treat somebody who has a religious exemption, that is textbook discrimination, and thats whats happening. Earlier in the case: Eglin AFB officers part of federal court challenge to military vaccine mandate Related:Motion to halt military COVID-19 vaccine mandate fails; federal trial date set The 18 . 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 fetal cells were not used to produce either vaccine, National Geographic reported last fall. 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. Subscribe on PodcastOne or Apple Podcasts. In the filing, attorneys argue that the plaintiffs are facing criminal conviction and dishonorable discharge, which would strip them of any veterans benefits. Punishing SEALs for simply asking for a religious accommodation is purely vindictive and punitive. 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. This disparity of treatment between medical and religious exemptions was constitutionally prohibited,Judge Reed OConnor said. Dr Terry Adirim, the government bureaucrat behind the infamous and unlawful Pentagon vaccine mandate, will "leave her post in the coming days," reports FedScoop. They are, theyre ignoring the law, theyre ignoring the Constitution. Here, Plaintiffs must decide whether to lose their livelihoods or violate sincerely held religious beliefs. And one of the reasons for that is if they if theyre between the ages of 17 and 23, and theyre not vaccinated, were not even willing to talk to them. And so theyre basically closing off an entire segment of society in a discriminatory manner. Complainants push back on the militarys position that remaining unvaccinated endangers the force and undermines national security, since the vast majority of troops have received all of a one- or two-shot regimen. The Navy began issuing guidance to sailors earlier this month. Just three days later, he issued a far more sweeping order granting 4,095 service members a religious exemption from the COVID vaccine. Thats really prohibited by the by the courts considering these types of cases. Many religious exemption applications have explained that the service members werent aware of the use of fetal stem cells prior to all of the controversy over the COVID-19 vaccine, but for the purposes of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, they dont have to explain themselves.