Nearly 40% of the members of the US Marines Corps have refused to take one of the available versions of the coronavirus vaccine, a phenomenon occurring with people who have questioned the validity of the effectiveness of the vaccine–or even whether the coronavirus is a public health threat.
According to CNN, 78,000 Marines who have been offered the vaccine have gotten at least one dose of a vaccine, accounting for 61.1% of the military branch. Another 40,000 Marines have refused to take the vaccine. More than 100,000 Marines–including those in the reserve and Individual Mobilization Augmentee Marines–have not been offered the vaccine through the service as of yet.
At Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, one of the largest Marine bases in the country, 57.7% of eligible Marines have refused to take the vaccine.
Members of the military are not required to take the coronavirus vaccine, although other treatments and vaccines are required. Because the coronavirus vaccines have only received emergency use authorizations, they cannot be mandated for members of the military.
The refusal to take the vaccine concerns some military analysts and public health professionals who fear an outbreak of coronavirus could sideline large portions of service members.