WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) wrote a letter to President Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley asking for additional information and data on the COVID-19 vaccine mandate that was issued for service members in the U.S. military after Secretary Austin previously stated that no vaccine mandate would include vaccines without full Food and Drug Administration approval.

“Multiple sources have alleged that the Department of Defense’s (DoD) mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations may not be in accordance with Secretary of Defense Austin’s August 24, 2021 memorandum (vaccine mandate) stating “[m]andatory vaccination against COVID-19 will only use COVID-19 vaccines that receive full licensure from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in accordance with FDA-approved labeling and guidance,” the senator wrote. “Absent a sufficient supply of the only approved COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, it is not clear how DoD is complying with Secretary Austin’s assertion that mandatory vaccination will only occur with the fully-licensed vaccine.”

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

October 12, 2021

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden

President

The White House

Washington, D.C. 20500

The Honorable Lloyd J. Austin III

Secretary of Defense

U.S. Department of Defense

1000 Defense Pentagon

Washington, D.C. 20301

The Honorable Mark A. Milley

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

9999 Joint Staff Pentagon

Washington, D.C. 20318

Dear President Biden, Secretary Austin and General Milley:

Multiple sources have alleged that the Department of Defense’s (DoD) mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations may not be in accordance with Secretary of Defense Austin’s August 24, 2021 memorandum (vaccine mandate) stating “[m]andatory vaccination against COVID-19 will only use COVID-19 vaccines that receive full licensure from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in accordance with FDA-approved labeling and guidance.”[1]

On August 23, 2021, the FDA stated, “[a]lthough COMIRNATY (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) is approved to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 16 years of age and older, there is not sufficient approved vaccine available for distribution to this population in its entirety at the time of reissuance of this [Emergency Use Authorization] EUA.”[2]  On September 13, 2021, the National Library of Medicine within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), reported, “[a]t present, Pfizer does not plan to produce any product with these new [Comirnaty National Drug Codes] and labels over the next few months while EUA authorized product is still available and being made available for U.S. distribution.”[3]  Again on September 22, 2021, the FDA stated, “there is not sufficient approved vaccine [Comirnaty] available for distribution to this population [individuals 16 years of age and older] in its entirety at the time of reissuance of this EUA.”[4]  Absent a sufficient supply of the only approved COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, it is not clear how DoD is complying with Secretary Austin’s assertion that mandatory vaccination will only occur with the fully-licensed vaccine.[5]

In order to understand the extent to which DoD service members subject to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination may have not received fully-approved vaccines as prescribed by Secretary Austin’s vaccine mandate, I request the following information: 

1. How many vaccinations have been administered since Secretary Austin’s vaccine mandate?
2. Please provide the number of voluntary and mandated vaccinations administered to DoD service members using each vaccine by month:

• Moderna – EUA;
• Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) – EUA;
• Pfizer-BioNTech – EUA; and
• Comirnaty – FDA approved.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.  Please respond no later than October 26, 2021.

              Sincerely,

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