The Marine Corps discharged 66 Marines in the past week for refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine as mandated by the military, outpacing the other services at discipline related to the shots.
The latest Corps actions, which came as COVID-19 cases surged across the country as a result of the omicron variant, brought the total number of Marines booted out of the service for vaccine refusal to 169.
“The speed with which the disease transmits among individuals has increased risk to our Marines and the Marine Corps’ mission," the Marine Corps said in a statement, even as the percentage of those at least partially vaccinated remained at 95%, the same as last week.
The infection rise also hit close to the Defense Department's No. 2 leader. The Pentagon announced Thursday that seven staff members who traveled with Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks last week to Hawaii, California and Nebraska have tested positive for the virus. Hicks and members of her personal staff have so far tested negative.
