US Army says all active duty soldiers MUST be fully vaccinated against COVID by December 15

 The Army unveiled its plan on Tuesday toward meeting the Pentagon's order that all servicemembers are vaccinated against coronavirus by mid-September.

Soldiers will be mandated by the Army, according to a Tuesday press release, to be fully inoculated by December 15 – meaning they received all required doses of the vaccine and reach the two-week waiting period after the last dose.

Also required in the Army mandate is that National Guard troops are fully vaccinated by June 30, 2022.

'This is quite literally a matter of life and death for our Soldiers, their families and the communities in which we live,' Lieutenant General R. Scott Dingle, the U.S. Army Surgeon General, said.

'Case counts and deaths continue to be concerning as the Delta variant spreads, which makes protecting the force through mandatory vaccination a health and readiness priority for the total Army.'

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The Army announced Tuesday that all active duty soldiers are required to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus by December 15 and all National Guard members must be full inoculated by June 30, 2022

The Pentagon announced in early August that all U.S. troops must get a COVID-19 vaccine by September 15.

At the time of the order on August 9, 73 per cent of active duty servicemembers had already received at least one shot, and 62 per cent were fully vaccinated. That number has obviously risen since then.

In September, President Joe Biden made remarks mandating most U.S. workers get vaccines. Employers with 100 or more employees now need to garner proof of vaccination from their workers or else require at least weekly coronavirus testing.

This order affects at least two-thirds of the U.S. workforce.

Military members, who sign a contract with the government, are also facing orders to get the vaccine as Biden faces clapback for declining rates and reimplementation of mask mandates in high case rate areas.

The Army's press release claims that soldiers who refuse the vaccine could be discharge or relieved from service.

'While soldiers who refuse the vaccine will first be counseled by their chain of command and medical providers, continued failure to comply could result in administrative or non-judicial punishment – to include relief of duties or discharge,' the release states.

'Soldiers have the ability to request an exemption from receiving the vaccine, if they have a legitimate medical, religious or administrative reason,' it continued. 'Soldiers who are pending exemption requests will not be subject to adverse actions until the exemption is fully processed.'

The Army already started implementing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's order on August 24 to try and get one shot into the arms of soldiers before September 15.

Before then, vaccines were optional for active duty Army troops.