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1 1 (January 24, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govefdz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ____ *Research Service inforrmng the legislative debate since 114_ FY2022 NDAA: COVID-19 Vaccination-related Provisions January 24, 2022 Background On August 19, 2021, the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) issued a memorandum directing the Secretaries of the Military Departments (MILDEPs) to immediately begin full vaccination of all members of the Armed Forces under DoD authority on active duty or in the Ready Reserve, including the National Guard, who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Shortly after, each MILDEP issued directives to establish the vaccination requirement, establish deadlines, clarify the process for requesting an exemption, and describe the procedures for addressing noncompliance. Since implementation of these directives, some states and servicemembers have filed lawsuits challenging the vaccination mandate or the MILDEPs' exemption process. As of January 19, 2022, DOD reported that 1.6 million servicemembers were fully vaccinated, which is approximately 75% of the total force (active and reserve components). The MILDEPs also continue to review a number of requests submitted for an administrative, religious, or medical exemption to the vaccination mandate. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA; P.L. 116-283) included a number of COVID-19-related provisions focused on reviewing DOD's pandemic preparedness, providing health benefits for certain National Guard members supporting the domestic response, and establishing a registry of Military Health System beneficiaries diagnosed with COVID-19. Table 1 lists the proposed and enacted COVID-19 vaccination-related provisions included in the FY2022 NDAA (P.L. 117-81). Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11842 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress -