US Navy Settles COVID Vaccine Lawsuit with SEALs, Sailors

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Facts

• The US Navy on Wednesday settled a long-running lawsuit with SEALs and sailors who refused the COVID vaccine on religious grounds.¹
• As a part of the agreement, the Navy will erase the record of sailors who declined to comply with the COVID mandate and protect the servicemembers' careers against discrimination on the promotion board.²
• The agreement also requires the Navy to pay $1.5M in attorney's fees and publish a public statement on its website about its acceptance of religious beliefs.³
• In 2021, then Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mandated COVID jabs for servicemembers. However, a district judge in a class action suit quashed the Navy's ability to penalize servicemembers for refusing the mandate — the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling, while the US Supreme Court rejected it.⁴
• Although the mandate was lifted in 2023, the Fifth Circuit said the case could continue so that the district court could 'evaluate the Navy's broader religious discrimination because of the mandate.'⁵

Sources: ¹Washington Examiner, ²First Liberty (a), ³USNI News, ⁴Military.com and ⁵First Liberty (b).

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Military Times. Hesitancy to take up the COVID vaccines was primarily driven by disinformation on how they were developed, including inaccurate information on the use of fetal tissue from abortion procedures. Refusal to obey legal orders eventually affected the military's preparedness, which is why those who refused to be immunized must be punished according to procedures.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by USNI News. Navy SEALs and other servicemembers have fought long and hard for this legal victory. It's great to see that those who were guided by their conscience and were steadfast in their faith will finally not be discriminated against by the Navy and not have their decisions held negatively against them.

Predictions