US President Joe Biden said he “strongly supports” the decision of United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s that will require members of the country’s military to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 15. Biden announced his endorsement of the plan in a tweet on Monday.

He wrote, ”

I strongly support @SecDef and @DeptofDefense’s plan to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for service members. We are still on a wartime footing against this virus, and every eligible American should get vaccinated.”

The tweet was attached with a White House press release, which further affirmed “an unshakable commitment to making sure our troops have every tool they need to do their jobs as safely as possible”, an initiative shared by both the President and the chief of United States Department of Defense.

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In the memo of Pentagon, reports of which were released earlier today by Associated Press, Secretary Austin stated that the approval of the United States President would be awaited to implement the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the country’s armed forces.

“I will not hesitate to act sooner or recommend a different course to the President if l feel the need to do so”, the memo from Pentagon read, which is expected to go out on Monday.

Biden also expressed concern about the increasing number of cases of COVID-19 in the country, which has significantly been boosted by the spread of the Delta variant. 

“We cannot let up in the fight against COVID-19, especially with the Delta variant spreading rapidly through unvaccinated populations”, the press release said.

It added, “We are still on a wartime footing, and every American who is eligible should take immediate steps to get vaccinated right away.”

The United States Army reports the lowest inoculation rate out of the three major branches of defense forces ranging close to 50%. The Air Force reports active-duty personnel to have a partial vaccination rate that is more than 60%. The Navy has a single-shot vaccination rate of more than 74% of all active duty and reserve sailors.