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Report shows how many Utah National Guard soldiers are refusing vaccinations

U.S. military personnel have been given a deadline to get the COVID-19 vaccine

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Vaccine shots are the free Pfizer community vaccine clinic hosted by the Utah National Guard in partnership with the Weber Morgan Health Department at the Weber State University Continuing Education Center in Ogden, Aug. 11, 2021. A new report shows how many Utah National Guard members have refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Vaccine shots are the free Pfizer community vaccine clinic hosted by the Utah National Guard in partnership with the Weber Morgan Health Department at the Weber State University Continuing Education Center in Ogden, Aug. 11, 2021. A new report shows how many Utah National Guard members have refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

As of late January, about 12% of Utah National Guard soldiers and airmen had not yet received any shots of the COVID-19 vaccine despite mandates to do so, according to a report obtained by FOX 13 News.

One hundred forty-eight personnel, which is about 2% of the force, are listed as having “refused” to be vaccinated, the report says. Of those, all but one are in the Utah Army National Guard.

“They may face adverse consequences,” said Lindsay Cohn, an associate professor at the U.S. Naval War College who has been monitoring vaccinations in the military, “like not getting promoted, not having that drill time counted, possibly being administratively separated.”

To read more about how many Utah National Guard soldiers have refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, visit FOX 13.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aim to inform readers across the state.

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