MANDATORY VACCINATION CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 FOR NAVY RESERVE FORCE PERSONNEL

[Tony]

-----OFFICIAL INFORMATION DISPATCH FOLLOWS-----
RTTUZYUW RHOIAAA0017 2511950-UUUU--RHSSSUU.
ZNR UUUUU
R 082022Z SEP 21 MID200001110845U
FM COMNAVRESFOR NORFOLK VA
TO NAVRESFOR
INFO ASSTSECNAV MRA WASHINGTON DC
CNO WASHINGTON DC
COMNAVRESFORCOM NORFOLK VA
COMNAVPERSCOM MILLINGTON TN
COMNAVAIRFORES SAN DIEGO CA
COMNAVIFORES FORT WORTH TX
COMNAVRESFOR NORFOLK VA
BT
UNCLAS
ALNAVRESFOR 010/21 //
MSGID/GENADMIN/COMNAVRESFOR NORFOLK VA/N9/SEP//
SUBJ/MANDATORY VACCINATION CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 FOR NAVY RESERVE
FORCE PERSONNEL//
REF/A/DOC/SECDEF/24AUG21//
REF/B/NAVADMIN/OPNAV/319113Z21//
REF/C/DOC/DODINST 6205.02/23JUL19//
REF/D/DOC/BUMEDINST 6230.15B/7OCT13//
REF/E/LTR/CNRF/24AUG21//
REF/F/NAVADMIN/OPNAV/042044MAY21//
REF/G/MSG/MMQC/MMQC 21-1463/24AUG21//
REF/H/DOC/BUPERSINST 1730.11A/16MAR20//
REF/I/DOC/MILPERSMAN 1730-020/15AUG20//
REF/J/ALNAV/SECNAV/30AUG21//
REF/K/DOC/BUMED 6300/03SEP21//
REF/L/DOC/BUMED 6300/03SEP21//
NARR/REF A is SECDEF Memorandum for Senior Pentagon Leadership,
Commanders of the Combatant Commands and Defense Agency and DOD
Field Activity Directors, Mandatory Coronavirus Disease 2019
Vaccination Department of Defense Service Members.
REF B is NAVADMIN 190-21, 2021-2022 Navy Mandatory COVID-19
Vaccination and Reporting Policy.
REF C is DoD Instruction 6205.02, DoD Immunization Program.
REF D is BUMEDINST 6230.15B, Immunizations and Chemoprophylaxis for
the Prevention of Infectious Disease.
REF E is CNRF DON Tracker-165, COVID Vaccination that outline
actions necessary for NRAs/NOSCs to ensure timely and accurate
ordering, receipt, storage and administration of vaccinations.
REF F is NAVADMIN 088/21, SARS-COV-2 Vaccination and Reporting
Policy Update.
REF G is Medical Material Quality Control Message, FDA Approves
Licensure of Pfizer-BioNTech and Shelf Life Extension and EUA Fact
Sheet Update.
REF H is BUPERS Instruction 1730.11A, Standards and Procedures
Governing the Accommodation of Religious Practices.
REF I is the MILPERSMAN 1730-020, Immunization Exemptions for
Religious Beliefs.
REF J is ALNAV 062/21, 2021-2022 Department of the Navy mandatory
COVID-19 vaccination policy.
REF K is BUMEDNOTE 6300, Navy Coronavirus Disease 2019 vaccine
medical temporary, and medical permanent exemption for medical
contraindication approval process.
REF L is BUMED Memo 6300, Interchangeability of food and drug
administration-approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Comirnaty and Food
and DrugAdministration-authorized Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine under
emergency use authorization.//
POC/BOWES, BRIAN/CAPT/COMNAVRESFORCOM/TEL (757) 322-5645/E-MAIL:
BRIAN.N.BOWES(AT)NAVY.MIL//
RMKS/1. Per ref (a) the Secretary of Defense determined that
mandatory vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
is necessary to protect the Force and defend the American people.
Refs (b), (j) and (l) describe the Navy policy and process for
executing the mandatory vaccinations and shall be read in their
entirety. Navy Reserve Commands and leadership shall immediately
begin full vaccination of all Navy Reserve military personnel who
are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Commanders will be
creative and aggressively develop plans to get Sailors vaccinated
using all available civilian and military resources. Commanders
will notify their Sailors on the requirement to vaccinate against
COVID-19 and the availability of the COVID-19 vaccinations from
local commercial sources IAW ref (f); have 100% of eligible Sailors
fully vaccinated NLT 24 December 2021; and per ref (e) order,
receive, store and administer COVID-19 vaccinations as needed to
ensure all Sailors are vaccinated.
2. IDT/Active Duty Policy.
2.A Beginning October 2021, reschedules, authorized absences, and
virtual/telework drills are not authorized until fully vaccinated.
Only exceptions are for extenuating circumstances such as family
death, serious injury/illness, or hospitalization. NRA/NOSC
Commanders can direct non-fully vaccinated Sailors who drill at
off-site locations to report to their assigned NRA/NOSC in order to
complete required notifications, counseling, and vaccine
administration.
2.B. The use of paid or non-paid IDT drills are authorized in order
to maximize opportunities to receive the vaccination at civilian or
military sites. Every effort will be made to support drilling
reservists who are willing to receive the vaccine through a civilian
or local program.
2.C. Active Duty commands may have immunization requirements.
Non-fully vaccinated Sailors should coordinate with unit leadership
and Reserve Program Director prior to executing orders.
3. COVID vaccination. Per ref (g) the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) approved Pfizer-BioNTech as the first fully licensed COVID-19
vaccine. Per ref (l), the FDA-approved Comirnaty vaccine, and the
FDA-Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, have
the same formulation, and can be used interchangeably to provide the
COVID-19 vaccination series without presenting any safety or
effectiveness concerns. Navy medical providers can use
Pfizer-BioNTech doses distributed under the EUA to administer
mandatory vaccinations. Per ref (a) licensed vaccines are
mandatory, however, individuals may elect to receive an FDA-EUA
COVID vaccine in lieu of the mandatory vaccine. A complete course of
COVID-19 vaccines under FDA licensure or FDA EUA or Expanded
Availability (EA), including 2 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna,
or 1 dose of Janssen/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines are
required to be considered fully vaccinated.
4. Implementation. Mandatory vaccination requirements for Navy
Reserve personnel will be implemented consistent with refs (a)
through (d). Navy Reserve personnel are considered fully vaccinated
two weeks after completing the second dose of a two-dose COVID-19
vaccine or two weeks after receiving a single dose of a one-dose
vaccine. Navy reserve personnel with previous COVID-19 infection are
not considered fully vaccinated.
5. Exemptions/Waivers. The following guidance regarding mandatory
vaccination exemptions/waivers is provided IAW refs (b) and (k).
5.A. The process for obtaining medical and administrative
exemptions/waivers for mandatory vaccinations is provided in ref
(d) and in refs (h) and (i) for religious accommodations and
exemptions. Specifically for the COVID-19 vaccination, in addition
to the processes in refs (d), (h), and (i), per reference (b) the
authority to grant approval of permanent medical exemption/waiver is
the first medical Flag Officer. All exemption/waiver requests must
be submitted by the conclusion of a Sailors regularly scheduled
October drill.
5.B. A history of COVID-19 disease and/or positive serology does
not exempt a Navy Reserve member from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
Navy Reserve personnel who previously received a medical exemption
from COVID-19 vaccine while the vaccines were authorized under an
Emergency Use Authorization will be reevaluated per
paragraph 5.A to determine whether the medical exemption remains
valid.
5.C. Navy Reserve personnel who are actively participating in
COVID-19 clinical trials are exempted from mandatory vaccination
against COVID-19 until the trial is complete in order to avoid
invalidating clinical trial results.
6. COVID-19 Vaccination Reporting. Per ref (b) the following
COVID-19 reporting is required.
6.A. Navy Reserve vaccination compliance will be monitored via the
Medical Readiness Reporting System (MRRS).
6.B. Vaccine administration errors, serious adverse vaccine
reactions or clinically significant adverse events will be reported
in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System,
(https://vaers.hhs.gov/resources/infoproviders.html).
6.C. Vaccine administrators will ensure COVID-19 vaccine
administration is accurately coded to reflect the type of vaccine
given.
6.D. To ensure vaccination is appropriately recorded in MRRS,
FTS/AC must provide documentation of any COVID-19 vaccination to
their medical department the next duty day. Drilling reservists
who receive the vaccination from a retail network pharmacy or other
non-DoD vaccine administrator must provide documentation of any
COVID-19 vaccination to their NRA/NOSC within 7 days of receipt.
6.E. For Navy Reserve service members without a pending exemption
request or whose exemption request was denied, commands will provide
counseling regarding refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine. This
counseling will include access to a healthcare professional to
answer questions regarding the risks of COVID-19 and the benefits
of COVID-19 vaccinations. Commands will then issue a uniform
NAVPERS 1070/613 (Page 13) ordering initiation of the COVID-19
vaccine series, to be completed within the time requirements of
paragraph 6.E.1 below. The NAVPERS 1070/613 can be found at:
https://portal.secnav.navy.mil/cop/crc/COVID/Documentationand
PDFTraining/Forms/Allitems.aspx.
6.E.1 Vaccination will be initiated within 7 days for FTS/AC and no
later than the next drill weekend for drilling reservists.
6.E.2 FTS/AC counseling and Page 13 issuance shall occur NLT 15
September 2021 for members without a pending exemption request.
FTS/AC whose exemption request was denied will be counseled and
issued the Page 13 within 7 days of the denial.
6.E.3 For drilling reservist counseling and Page 13 issuance shall
occur prior to conclusion of the October drill weekend for members
without a pending exemption request. Drilling reservists whose
exemption request was denied will be counseled and issued the Page
13 no later than the drill weekend after denial. The administrative
NRA/NOSC is responsible for the counseling and Page 13.
6.E.4 The Strategic Sealift Officer Program Office will provide
guidance sepcor for the Strategic Sealift Officers in the Individual
Ready Reserve (IRR).
7. Legal. IAW Ref (b) any Navy Reserve personnel who refuse to
receive the COVID-19 vaccine, absent an approved exemption/waiver,
will constitute a failure to obey a lawful order and may be
punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and/or result
in administrative action.
7.A. IAW ref(b), Navy Service Members who remain unvaccinated, and
who have or are expected to exceed the time requirements of ref(b),
their ultimate disposition will be determined by the designated
COVID Consolidated Disposition Authority (CCDA). The CCDA will
serve as the central authority for adjudication and will have at
his or her disposal the full range of administrative and
disciplinary actions. Until further notice, authority is withheld
for non-judicial punishment, courts-martial, administrative
separation or administrative unsatisfactory drill participation in
cases of Navy Service Members refusing vaccination. The assigned
CCDA and specific required reporting procedures and information will
be promulgated via separate message.
8. Points of contact.
A. For medical questions commands should contact CAPT Brian N.
Bowes, Force Surgeon, (757) 322-5645 or e-mail at
brian.n.bowes(AT)navy.mil
B. For legal questions command and members should contact CAPT Bill
Bailey, Force Judge Advocate, (757-322-5649) or e-mail at
william.j.bailey(AT)navy.mil.
9. Released by RADM J.A. Schommer, Deputy Commander, Navy Reserve
Force.//
BT
#0017
NNNN
<DmdsSecurity>UNCLASSIFIED//</DmdsSecurity>
<DmdsReleaser>BIERLEY.JOHN.FITZGERALD.JR.1276268542</DmdsReleaser>
CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED//