These are believed to be the first religious exemptions granted to any service members, out of over 13,000 military requests.
The Marine Corps has approved two requests to service members who are refusing the COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds, marking what are believed to be the first known religious exemptions granted across all the armed services — out of thousands of requests.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mandated the COVID-19 vaccine in September but allowed the services to come up with their own implementation deadlines and plans to process exemption requests. The religions of the two Marines who obtained exemptions from the Marine Corps are not known. A spokesperson for the Marines said the service could not provide more details for privacy reasons. COVID-19 mandate for Navy SEALs