Pentagon orders all civilian employees to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 22

Oct. 4 (UPI) — The Pentagon on Monday ordered all Department of Defense civilian employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by no later than Nov. 22.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks issued the order in a memorandum without stating the consequences for employees who do not meet this deadline.

Hicks said employees will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after completing their vaccination regimen, whether it be the one-shot vaccine created by Johnson & Johnson or the two-shot regimen of vaccines created by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.

For those currently unvaccinated, the deadline to receive their first Moderna shot is Monday and Oct. 18 for those who are to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech shot.

The deadline for all unvaccinated employees to receive their second shot of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna as well as the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine is Nov. 8, which ensures they meet the two weeks following their final shot to be considered fully vaccinated by Nov. 22.

Department of Defense civilian employees are eligible to receive the vaccine at any Department of Defense vaccination site, Hicks said in the memo.

Employees, including those who have already received COVID-19 vaccines, must provide a copy of their COVID-19 vaccine record, she said.

“Vaccinating DoD civilian employees against COVID-19 will save lives and allow for the defense of our Nation,” she wrote.

The issuing of the memo follows President Joe Biden on Sept. 9 mandating all federal employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Aug. 24 ordering mandatory vaccinations for all members of the Armed Forces.

According to Department of Defense statistics, as of the end of September, more than 46,500 Pentagon civilian employees have been partially vaccinated against the pandemic with another nearly 318,000 being fully vaccinated.

Of the 67,018 civilian employees who have been infected with COVID-19, nearly 2,000 were hospitalized and 321 have died, the department said.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management states there are 676,840 civilian employees under the Department of Defense.