Air Force officers sue over COVID-19 vaccine religious exemption denials

A group of Air Force officers is suing the service in an Ohio federal court after being denied religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The lawsuit, which names Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall as a defendant, alleges that the service employs a double standard when approving exemption requests that favors medical and administrative exemptions. 

The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the mandate unconstitutional, and bar the Air Force from taking “enforcement/punitive action” against them while the case is underway.

“The Department of the Air Force has failed to approve all but a small handful of religious accommodation requests, and those requests, upon information and belief, are for airmen who are close to the terminal end of their service,” reads the complaint. 

“While at the same time, the Department of the Air Force has approved thousands of administrative or medical exemptions to the same requirements,” it continues.

An Air Force spokesperson told The Hill that the service is aware of the filings, but doesn’t comment on pending litigation.  

The lawsuit, which was filed on Feb. 16, came a day after a federal judge in Georgia blocked the Air Force from booting a service member who had religious objections to the vaccine.

Active-duty service members had until Nov. 2 to be vaccinated, while Air National Guard and Reservists were given until Dec. 31.

The Air Force first said on Feb. 8 that it granted nine service members religious exemptions from the vaccine mandate. According to data released Tuesday, the service has approved 13 religious exemptions from the vaccine requirement.

The plaintiffs, which include a group of officers and reservists, all say they spoke with a military chaplain to verify the sincerity of their beliefs, but they were still denied.

Some of them also say they had natural immunity from previous infections with COVID-19. 

“The granting of more than one thousand medical and administrative exemptions belies any assertion that vaccination is mission-critical and that no exemptions can be granted,” reads the complaint.

Across the military, the services receive thousands of requests for religious exemptions but have only approved a small number.

The Marine Corps which was the first service grant religious exemptions to the mandate in mid-January, disclosed on Thursday that it has granted six out of over 3,600 requests it has received.

The Navy has also said it conditionally granted one religious accommodation for a member of its Individual Ready Reserve, but that person will have to be vaccinated before returning to active service.

The Army has yet to grant any religious accommodations.