NC Marine and soldier sue to block military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate
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- The COVID-19 vaccination order was issued on August 24th.
- The soldier is from Fort Bragg. The Navy is from New River Air Station.
- They want their case to become a class action.
FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina – A Soldier from Fort Bragg and a Marine stationed at Marine Corps Air Station New River Air Station near the coast are suing the federal government for trying to bail out the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate To put strength.
The Soldier and Navy also want their case to escalate into a class action lawsuit to include other service members and Department of Defense contractors.
Military service members have been receiving the COVID-19 vaccine since late last year, but the vaccinations did not become mandatory until August 24. At that point, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered all staff to be vaccinated.
“Plaintiffs claim that the DoD cannot compel them to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under existing military regulations, federal regulations, federal laws and the US Constitution,” said one version of the lawsuit filed on Sept. 24.
The lawsuit was originally filed in the US District Court in Colorado on August 17, and the September 24 version includes updates based on events that have occurred since August 17, such as Austin’s August 24 order.
According to their court records, the plaintiffs are Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Robert, a Fort Bragg infantryman and Marine Staff Sgt. Hollie Mulvihill, an air traffic controller at New River Air Station.
They are suing Austin and the US Department of Defense, the Department of Health and its secretary Xavier Becerra, and the Food and Drug Administration and acting secretary Janet Woodcock.
Video:Navy lieutenant speaks about the spread of the COVID-19 vaccine at Camp Lejeune
Recordings in December:Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point personnel receive the Moderna-COVID-19 vaccine
Your reasons for the lawsuit
The lawsuit only discusses the Pfizer version of the vaccine and does not mention Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccines.
It describes the Pfizer vaccine as “unlicensed”. The FDA officially approved the Pfizer vaccine on August 23. The vaccine was previously distributed under an emergency permit. Austin’s order states that only licensed vaccines should be used in the future.
Robert and Mulvihill’s records state that they are both sick with COVID-19 and have recovered, and their natural immunity should serve in place of the vaccine. Austin’s order specifically does not exempt people with previous COVID-19 infections from his mandate to receive the syringes.
Plaintiffs asked the court on August 30 to issue an injunction to prevent the military from enforcing their vaccination requirements. 220,000 sick employees shouldn’t have to get vaccinated. They also claimed that the vaccine would harm them.
A judge denied the request for an injunction on September 1. The soldier and the Navy then filed paperwork on Sept. 23, requesting a restraining order to stop the vaccinations. Your request is still pending.
A Department of Defense spokeswoman said the agency did not comment on pending litigation and referred questions to the US Department of Justice. The USA Today Network made a request to the Justice Department through its media portal and waited for a response on Friday afternoon.
The order of the Minister of Defense
Austin’s order of Aug. 24 states that the vaccinations are required to ensure that the military can fully do its job.
“To defend this nation, we need a healthy and operational force,” said Austin. “After careful consultation with medical experts and the military leadership, and with the support of the President, I have determined that mandatory vaccination against Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is required to protect the force and defend the American people.
“Mandatory vaccinations are known to all of our service members, and mission critical vaccination is almost as old as the US military itself,” said Austin.
The US military has approximately 1.35 million active soldiers and 800,000 reservists, according to the US House Recognition Committee.
The Department of Defense website said on Wednesday morning:
► 1.28 million service members were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and nearly 318,000 were partially vaccinated.
► More than 244,000 employees were infected with COVID-19, 58 had died.
► Almost 128,000 civilian employees, civil defense companies and members of the military were infected with COVID-19, including 457 deaths.
Fort Bragg, in and around Fayetteville in eastern North Carolina, is America’s largest military base by manpower, generally with about 50,000 to 55,000 soldiers. It is home to well-known army units and several headquarters including the 82nd Airborne Division, US Army Reserve Command, US Army Forces Command, and US Army Special Operations Command.
The New River Air Station at Camp Lejeune Naval Base outside Jacksonville and near the North Carolina coast has tilt rotor aircraft and helicopters from Marine Aircraft Group 26 and Marine Aircraft Group 29.
North Carolina Senior Reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@gannett.com.
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