ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

place by DoD.

Under the Army’s plan, units in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve must be fully vaccinated by June 30, 2022.

“This is quite literally a matter of life and death for our soldiers, their families and the communities in which we live,” Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. R. Scott Dingle said in a statement. “Case counts and deaths continue to be concerning as the Delta variant spreads, which makes protecting the force through mandatory vaccination a health and readiness priority for the total Army.”

People attending the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2021 Annual Meeting and Exposition must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have tested negative within the previous 72 hours, the association announced Sept. 3.  

The 2021 Annual Meeting and Exposition will be held Oct. 11–13 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Registration and housing registration are open. 

The military will “immediately begin” vaccinating service members against COVID-19, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an Aug. 24 memo.

Austin’s memo comes after the Food and Drug Administration announced its full approval of the two-shot vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech.

The military is moving forward with plans to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for service members now that Pfizer’s vaccine has received full approval, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said.

On Aug. 23, the Food and Drug Administration announced its full approval of the two-shot vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, the Associated Press reported. More than 200 million Pfizer doses have been administered in the U.S. and hundreds of millions more worldwide, according to the AP.

Health and safety are the paramount considerations as the Association of the U.S. Army continues planning for the 2021 Annual Meeting and Exposition, an in-person event Oct. 11–13 at the D.C. convention center. 

The meeting will be conducted according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, along with restrictions that might be required by the District of Columbia and the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Rules are expected to be revised as health risks change over time. 

The Pentagon will make the COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for service members by mid-September, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Aug. 9 in a memo to the force.

Shots could be required sooner if the vaccines receive full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, according to the memo.

In its continuing effort to instill a holistic approach to wellness in the force, the Army has launched “a few pilots” to study how it can incorporate the practice of mindfulness among soldiers at every level.

A panel of senior Army leaders will discuss the importance of holistic health and fitness to the force during an upcoming Association of the U.S. Army webinar.

The Thought Leaders event will begin at 2 p.m. Eastern July 21. It is free, but registration is required here.

Gen. Gus Perna, the former commander of Army Materiel Command who was chosen to help lead the government’s effort to develop, produce and distribute a new COVID-19 vaccine, has retired.

Perna, who in July 2020 was confirmed by the Senate to be chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, delayed his originally planned retirement from the Army to serve on the vaccine effort.