A new whistleblower report signed by nine officers across five branches of the military claims the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate is unlawful. The report was sent to Congress urging an investigation into what it called illegal and fraudulent activity by the DOD. The memorandum was published by Liberty Council, a nonprofit legal group that in January maintained there was no legal COVID-19 vaccine available despite the U.S. Food and Drug Administration saying there was.
The officers alleged in the Aug. 15 memorandum that the DOD has unlawfully administered emergency use authorized (EUA) products as if they were fully licensed FDA-approved products. Military regulations state service members have a legal right to refuse EUA products. Although the FDA issued approval for Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine in August 2021, none of the FDA-approved vaccines were available. FDA documents dated November 2021 stated: “In the U.S., there are no licensed vaccines or antiviral drugs for the prevention of COVID-19.”
Furthermore, the FDA said the EUA-authorized Pfizer vaccines were “legally distinct” from the FDA-approved Comirnaty vaccines that were unavailable for service members in the U.S. “The licensed vaccine has the same formulation as the EUA-authorized vaccine and the products can be used interchangeably to provide the vaccination series without presenting any safety or effectiveness concerns. The products are legally distinct with certain differences that do not impact safety or effectiveness,” the FDA said.