Pentagon says it will respond 'appropriately' after Oklahoma National Guard rejects federal vaccine mandate
CNN
The Pentagon said it would respond to Oklahoma's Republican governor after the state's National Guard indicated it would thwart a Defense Department mandate that troops be vaccinated against Covid-19.
The Department said it was "aware" of a memo issued this week by the Oklahoma National Guard's recently installed adjutant general which said the organization would not enforce the Department's vaccine mandate for its troops. The Pentagon mandated in August that US military service members get fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
The news in Oklahoma comes as multiple Republican-led states and other groups have filed suit to stop the Biden administration's vaccine requirement for federal contractors. And a federal appeals court on Friday reaffirmed its earlier decision to freeze a separate vaccine mandate that private businesses employing more than 100 workers require vaccination or impose testing guidelines for those not vaccinated. The two rules, slated to go into effect in January, cover about 100 million Americans.
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