Nearly 40% of U.S. Marines are taking down Covid-19 vaccinations, according to data provided by the service to CNN on Friday, the first branch to release service numbers on acceptance and rejection.
As of Thursday, about 75,500 Marines had received vaccines, including men and women who had been fully vaccinated and partially vaccinated. About 48,000 marines chose not to receive vaccines, at a rate of 38.9%.
CNN has reached out to the other services for acceptance and rejection rates.
The corresponding acceptance rate for vaccinations among marines – 61.1% – is not far from the military estimate of two thirds or about 66%.
Another 102,000 marines have not yet been offered the vaccines. The total number of marines includes active service, reserves and marines for individual mobilization.
According to another set of data provided to CNN, the declination rate at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, one of the leading Marine Corps bases, was much higher, at 57%. Of the 26,400 Marines offered vaccinations, 15,100 chose not to receive them, a number that includes both II Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Installation East – Camp Lejeune. Another 11,500 active conscripts are offered to offer the vaccines.
“We fully understand that wide acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccine offers us the best means to defeat the pandemic. The key to tackling the pandemic is to build the trust of the vaccine,” the spokesman said. of Marine Corps, col. Kelly Frushour, said in a statement to CNN.
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