Navy Separates 20 Sailors Over Refusal to Take COVID-19 Vaccine

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The Navy has separated 20 sailors, all of whom were in their first 180 days of active duty, for continued refusal of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The sailors are the first that the Navy has separated, the sea service announced Wednesday evening. No other active-duty sailors have been separated due to vaccine refusal, although the executive officer of USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) was separated in December for failure to follow a lawful order. A Navy official told USNI News that the officer would not get vaccinated against or tested for COVID-19.

The 20 entry-level separations were done during initial training periods, according to the Navy’s COVID-19 update Wednesday.