39% of US Marines refuse COVID-19 vaccination

[squeegee]

@Stranger_On_A_Train

The Department of Defense could, if it was so inclined, require vaccination whether it is under an EUA or full approval.

I’m not sure if this falls under the ‘so inclined’ doctrine, but I remember stories like this from a few weeks ago:

Military May Revisit Making COVID-19 Vaccines Mandatory After FDA Grants...

Despite the popular belief that the Pentagon can inject troops with anything it wants, military leaders are unable to force service members to get the COVID vaccinations at this time because the shots are approved only under an emergency-use authorization.

Here’s another article that discusses whether vaccine mandates may be allowed at all under EUA laws:

https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20210212.410237/full/

The EUA provision was added to the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) in 2004 to give the government increased flexibility to respond to a chemical, biologic, nuclear, or radiation threat. When the pathway was created, special language was included for informational disclosures for individuals offered a medical product under an EUA. Specifically, under 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(e)(1)(A)(ii)(III), each individual must be informed “of the option to accept or refuse administration of the product, of the consequences, if any, of refusing administration of the product, and of the alternatives to the product that are available and of their benefits and risks.”

Although no court has interpreted this provision, the first segment of the subclause suggests that mandates are categorically prohibited, since each person must have “the option to accept or refuse.” But another plausible interpretation is to view segment two as a qualifier to segment one. According to this interpretation, the provision as a whole could be interpreted to dictate that, although a person has the option to refuse an EUA product, refusal can come with “consequences.” Under this interpretation, the legality of a mandate is likely to hinge on how the term “consequences” is defined. Since the term is not defined in the statute, statutory interpretation principles dictate that the word should be defined in ordinary terms within the context of the statute.