All civilian employees of the Department of Defense (DoD) have until November 22 to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a new memo from Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks.
The Pentagon mandated the vaccine for all service members back in August, but the latest memo provides a timeline for unvaccinated civilian employees as to when they are required to receive their vaccines.
The memo outlines the following vaccination deadlines for civilian employees:
- “October 11: first dose deadline (if receiving the Moderna vaccine);
- October 18: first dose deadline (if receiving the Comirnaty/Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine);
- November 8: second dose deadline (if receiving the Moderna and Comirnaty/PfizerBioNTech vaccines); and
- November 8: first (only) dose deadline (if receiving the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine).”
DoD civilian employees can go to any DoD vaccination site to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, or go elsewhere. However, they must be prepared to show a copy of their vaccination record “to meet forthcoming procedures for DoD COVID-19 vaccination verification.”
New DoD civilian employees will need to be fully vaccinated by their start date or by November 22, whichever comes first.
“Vaccinating DoD civilian employees against COVID-19 will save lives and allow for the defense of our Nation,” Hicks signed the memo. “Thank you for your focus on this critical mission.”
