WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Marine Corps has approved its first two covid-19 vaccination exemptions based on religious reasons, something no other military service has done so far.
The exemptions are the first to be approved by the Corps in 10 years, the Marines said Friday.
As of Thursday, the Marine Corps had received 3,350 requests for religious exemptions to the vaccination mandate, and it had denied 3,212. No information about the two approvals was provided for privacy reasons.
The services have come under criticism for not granting religious exemptions, with members of Congress, the military and the public questioning whether the review processes have been fair. Service leaders have said that religious exemptions to any of the vaccines required by the military over the years have been rare. Troops are required to get as many as 17 different vaccines.
In a statement, the Marines said that "all current exemption requests are being reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Each request will be given full consideration with respect to the facts and circumstances submitted in the request. "
According to the Marines, exemption requests are reviewed by commanders and then sent to a three-person board at Manpower and Reserve Affairs. The board makes a recommendation, and the deputy commandant for manpower makes the decision. Marines can appeal any denials to the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps.
All the military services have said the decisions are based not only on the individual request, but also on its impact on the unit, its mission and readiness, and the health and safety of other troops. The Navy and the Marine Corps have said that unvaccinated service members are not allowed to deploy to sea on ships, where infections can more easily spread.
The Marines, however, have also vastly outpaced the other military services in discharging troops who refuse to get vaccinated. As of Thursday, the Corps had discharged 351 Marines for refusing the shots.
The Air Force said last week that it had discharged 87 airmen, while the Navy has discharged 20 entry-level sailors. The Army has not removed any soldiers from service for refusing to get vaccinated.