1/3 of Indiana National Guard members are unvaccinated
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — There are nearly 13,500 members of the Indiana National Guard and Air National Guard on active duty. According to numbers given to I-Team 8 by their leadership, close to a third of guardsmen are not vaccinated.
The Indiana National Guard has played a pivotal role in the state’s response to the pandemic. Guardsmen have been called upon to help staff food pantries, organize and staff testing and vaccination sites and even assist hospitals.
As of Friday, the Indiana National Guard says 63% of its soldiers are vaccinated, and 90% of the Air National Guard members are vaccinated.
I-Team 8 asked the guard to come on camera and talk about this issue, but they declined and sent a statement:
The health and well-being of our service members are of paramount importance. They protect our nation and help our state in times of need, and they should be protected themselves as much as possible from COVID-19 to be ready at a moment’s notice. Ultimately this is a matter of readiness, and the best way to help maintain the Indiana National Guard’s readiness is for our troops to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
There significant number of guard members who have chosen otherwise — more than 4,200 have not taken the jab.
“It has been a long time — we have had these vaccines out over a year. When you back to when they were actually studied, and they have proven to be safe and people are doing profoundly well with the vaccines. For example, right now in Indiana looking back in November, 80% of cases in our hospitalizations were in people who were not vaccinated” said Dr. Lindsay Weaver, the chief medical officer for the Indiana State Department of Health.
When the vaccine was made available in December of last year, a select number of Indiana guardsmen were some of the first in the country to receive the vaccine.
The Department of Defense ordered all members of the military, including National Guard members, to get the vaccine. Indiana National Guard soldiers have until June 30 of next year to get the vaccine. The deadline for airmen was last week.
The Indiana National Guard is not saying what will happen to guardsmen that choose not to get the vaccine by the deadline. However, the National Guard is allowing soldiers to file for religious or medical exemptions.