Wed Mar 15, 2023 – 4:44 pm EDT
KINGS POINT, New York (LifeSiteNews) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) rescinded its COVID-19 jab mandate last week after receiving a letter from House Subcommittee of Military Personnel Chairman Jim Banks of Ohio questioning the mandate’s constitutionality.
The USMMA announced the end of the mandate Friday. According to the announcement, applicants for the class of 2027 “will be admitted without regard to their COVID-19 vaccination status.” The announcement also stated that the decision to rescind the mandate came “[i]n light of the Department of Defense’s vaccine mandate recission, and the availability of Sea Year training billets for unvaccinated Midshipmen on vessels, we reevaluated the need for the COVID vaccination.”
While the Department of Defense (DOD) rescinded its military jab mandate for all servicemen in January, the U.S. Merchant Marine is overseen by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and not impacted by the DOD’s decision.
The USMMA further announced that it will admit midshipmen who have opted not to take the shot but noted that “Commercial carriers’ COVID-19 vaccination policies vary, and their policies may impact a midshipman’s ability to train on a vessel if a COVID vaccine is required” in order
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at LifeSite News
The views expressed in this news alert by the author do not directly represent that of The Official Street Preachers or its editors