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Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

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Service members carrying duffle bags and equipment

Service members carrying duffle bags and equipment

With the Air Force Vaccine Mandate Deadline Looming, Resistance Remains Among Service Members

John Pelissero, senior scholar with the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics interviewed by KNX L.A. News Radio.

Vaccine mandates have seen some nurses, police, and workers in other sectors walk off the job rather than receive their shots. As military branches roll out vaccine mandates and approximately 5% of service members are still hesitant, raising the question of what happens for those who refuse. KNX L.A. News Radio invited John Pelissero, director of Government Ethics, to comment on these concerns.

Pelissero contributes, "a lot of [the resistance] has to do with the information sources that service members are using, perhaps relying upon less valid and truthful sources about the effects of the vaccines, and they're using that as an excuse not to want to get the vaccine."

"It's not clear if they're going to seek to discharge service members that don't comply, but they can be held accountable under the military justice system for failing to obey a lawful order from the chain of command. There's an ethical question of fairness and justice that will be in play here. That military can't allow service members to pick and choose which orders, which mandates in this case, they're willing to comply with while holding others responsible for ignoring of lawful orders.

John Pelissero, senior scholar at the Ethics Center, interviewed by KNX L.A. News Radio.

 

Ethics
media,government

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