One of the main practices undertaken by various states in the ongoing fight against the spread of Covid-19 is massive vaccination campaigns targeting workers and professionals, such as teaching and medical personnel. In some instances, this course of action has been coupled with negative repercussions for workers who refuse to get vaccinated. For example, in March 2021, the Italian government imposed a vaccination obligation on all healthcare personnel, with a suspension of pay for any worker refusing to be vaccinated (Amante, 2021). Similarly, in July 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a measure setting 15 September as the date after which unvaccinated healthcare workers in France could be suspended without receiving their salary (Ficek & de Comarmond, 2021).
Likewise, military personnel could be subjected to corresponding measures – with detrimental effects for whoever refuses to comply with the mandatory vaccination. This was the case for seven members of the Dutch armed forces who filed an objection to the obligation of vaccination against Covid-19 for military personnel and members of the Marechaussee military police who are scheduled to participate in missions abroad. This obligation is based on the 1953 Military Immunization Act, which permits the mandatory vaccination of soldiers – originally implemented for smallpox, but afterwards including other diseases (such as diphtheria, tetanus, and hepatitis B) – and, starting in May 2021, with the addition of Covid-19 (Bormans & Damen, 2021). As explained by the State Secretary for Defence Barbara Visser when addressing the Dutch Parliament, infected personnel would be a “risk to the operational capacity of the armed forces”, which could not rely on medical treatment in the countries where they are deployed (DutchNews.nl, 2021).
Among the seven complaints submitted to the Conscientious Objections Committee for Immunization of Soldiers, two were upheld as they were based on religious grounds. The others were either withdrawn, are still being assessed (8/21), or discarded since they were not based on religious, medical, or philosophical reasons. A spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands also confirmed that no soldiers were dismissed for refusing the vaccine – which remains voluntary for soldiers who are not scheduled to be assigned to military missions abroad. The two successful complainants were thus given different positions, which do not involve their displacement out of the Dutch territory (NLTimes, 2021).
This is not the only instance in which members of armed forces have been subjected to a duty of vaccination against Covid-19 to perform military tasks and this is not only limited to missions abroad. In August 2021, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced a plan of compulsory vaccinations for the entire American military personnel, starting in the following month of September (Baldor, 2021). President Joe Biden approved this decision in a statement in which he highlighted the role of vaccines as tools permitting service members to work as safely as possible and ensuring, among their other duties, that US forces are ready to operate anywhere in the world (The White House, 2021). This vaccine mandate, which is expected to take place after the approval from the Food and Drug Administration, could result in various penalties for uncomplying military personnel, ranging from administrative reprimands to discharge from the armed forces (Custodio, 2021).
These over-arching measures are the exception at this point, as most of the EU and NATO member states (MS) have not issued specific measures regarding the obligatoriness of vaccination against Covid-19 for their armed forces, nor have the EU or NATO themselves announced equivalent initiatives. Related to vaccinations, NATO published a Letter of Promulgation in December 2008, which explicitly affirms that each nation is responsible for establishing their mandatory and voluntary vaccination requirements and relies on the MS national authorities whose vaccination plans must be coordinated to ensure personnel have adequate protection before travelling or deploying to a threat area (NATO, 2008).
Armed forces are thus subject to the differing national regulations on vaccinations. However, a unified vaccination strategy could be both appropriate and effective, especially in missions conducted under an international flag with different MS involved (Jacob, 2021). In the near future, it is plausible that other states will follow the example of the Netherlands and the US and impose a Covid-19 vaccination mandate on their armed forces as a requirement for the pursuit of a range of activities, including being assigned to military missions in states with limited medical facilities.
Written by Luca Vignati
Bibliography
Amante, Angelo (2021), ‘Italy makes COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for all health workers’, Reuters [online]. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-vaccine-idUSKBN2BN34F [Accessed: 18 August 2021]
Baldor, Lolita C. (2021), ‘COVID vaccines to be required for military under new US plan’, AP [online]. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-vaccine-us-military-requirement-pentagon-3975940c732352f72e41f6e34a3a2669[Accessed: 18 August 2021]
Bormans, Abel, and Fleur Damen (2021), ‘Militairen weigeren prik en mogen niet mee op buitenlandse missies’, De Volkskrant [online]. Available at: https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/militairen-weigeren-prik-en-mogen-niet-mee-op-buitenlandse-missies~b807dc70/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dutchnews.nl%2Fnews%2F2021%2F08%2Ftwo-military-personnel-banned-from-foreign-tours-for-refusing-vaccine%2F [Accessed: 17 August 2021]
Custodio, Jonathan (2021), ‘Mandatory Covid vaccines for troops are coming. What happens if they refuse?’, Politico [online]. Available at: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/09/mandtory-covid-vaccines-troops-refusal-502865[Accessed: 18 August 2021]
DutchNews.nl (2021), ‘Two military personnel banned from foreign tours for refusing vaccine’, DutchNews.nl [online]. Available at: https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2021/08/two-military-personnel-banned-from-foreign-tours-for-refusing-vaccine/ [Accessed: 17 August 2021]
Ficek, Isabelle, and Leïla de Comarmond (2021), ‘Vaccination obligatoire et pass sanitaire: le calendrier, les sanctions et les publics concernés’, Les Echos [online]. Available at: https://www.lesechos.fr/politique-societe/gouvernement/vaccination-obligatoire-et-pass-sanitaire-le-calendrier-les-sanctions-et-les-publics-concernes-1331896 [Accessed: 18 August 2021]
Jacob, Emmanuel (2021), ‘The Same Duties, The Same Risks?’, EUROMIL [online]. Available at: https://euromil.org/the-same-duties-the-same-risks/ [Accessed: 19 August 2021]
NATO (2008), ‘National Military Strategies for Vaccination of NATO Forces AMedP-23’ [online]. Available at: https://shape.nato.int/resources/site6362/medica-secure/Publications/AMedP-23.pdf [Accessed: 18 August 2021]
NLTimes (2021), ‘Dutch soldiers who refused Covid vaccine not deployed abroad’, NLTimes [online]. Available at: https://nltimes.nl/2021/08/16/dutch-soldiers-refused-covid-vaccine-deployed-abroad [Accessed: 17 August 2021]
The White House (2021), ‘Statement by President Joe Biden on COVID-19 Vaccines for Service Members’ [online]. Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/08/09/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-covid-19-vaccines-for-service-members/ [Accessed: 18 August 2021]
