MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho — On Monday, the Pentagon announced all service members of the United States' armed forces will need to get the COVID-19 vaccine by mid-September.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, called getting servicemen and women vaccinated against the coronavirus a key force protection and readiness issue.
The mandate will require all active military members to have at least one shot of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine by mid-September. That includes all of the active airmen stationed at the Mountain Home Air Force Base.
"The 366th Fighter Wing is prepared to vaccinate all Mountain Home AFB airmen once directed. COVID vaccines help protect the health and safety of our military members and their families, which improves the wing’s readiness to accomplish its mission at home and abroad during the ongoing pandemic," MHAFB officials told The 208.
The plan outlines that the mandate will go into effect by mid-September, or immediately if the Food and Drug Administration approves the vaccines, whichever happens first. The Pfizer vaccine is anticipated to be approved by early next month.
Idaho Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin took to Twitter to say the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for military personnel "will greatly damage morale, which represents a national security threat to our country."
For active military members, the COVID-19 vaccine will be added to a list of over a hundred of other required vaccines required in some areas.
According to the Military Health System, there are six areas of command across the globe for the U.S. military. Depending on where they are deployed, American servicemen and women could be required to get a dozen of vaccinations, some with multiple shots.
For example, personnel who are deployed to the Korean Peninsula, which falls under the Indo-Pacific Command, could be required to get 13 different vaccines, including Hepatitis A and B, Polio, Rabies, encephalitis and anthrax, depending on duty.
It remains unclear how many service members at the Mountain Home Air Force Base the new mandate will impact. It's unknown how many at the base have already been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Join 'The 208' conversation:
- Text us at (208) 321-5614
- E-mail us at the208@ktvb.com
- Join our The 208 Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/the208KTVB/
- Follow us on Twitter: @the208KTVB or tweet #the208 and #SoIdaho
- Follow us on Instagram: @the208KTVB
- Bookmark our landing page: /the-208
- And we also turn each episode into a podcast on Podbean
- Still reading this list? We're on YouTube, too: