Navy blocked from punishing vaccine refusers
Navy, Judge Reed O’Connor
Judge blocks Navy vaccination requirement. Punishment for unvaccinated on hold.
Where: United States
The Facts
On Monday, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Department of Defense from enforcing its COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
The injunction also blocks a group of 35 Navy Seals, who refuse to get vaccinated, from any punishment.
US District Judge Reed O’Connor upheld the Navy Seals’ lawsuit and filed the injunction on religious freedom grounds, stating the Seals had a right to refuse vaccination based on their beliefs.
O’Connor stated in his order, “The Navy service members in this case seek to vindicate the very freedoms they have sacrificed so much to protect,” adding, “The COVID-19 pandemic provides the government no license to abrogate those freedoms.”
As of December, approximately 98% of all active-duty forces had revived the COVID-19 vaccine.
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