Biden says it's 'tough call' to mandate COVID-19 vaccine for military

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COVID vaccine trials expanded to children as young as 6 months

Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier discusses testing out COVID-19 vaccines on children.

President Biden has not ruled out requiring military personnel to get a COVID-19 vaccine, saying it will be a "tough call."

Biden has said that when it comes to the military, he will leave it to the Armed Forces to decide, but that he hasn’t ruled out requiring the vaccine.

"I’m not saying I won’t," Biden told "The Today Show" on Friday. "I think you’re going to see more and more of them getting it. And I think it’s going to be a tough call whether or not they should be required to get it in the military, because you’re in such close proximity with other military personnel."

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The push to vaccinate America has defined the first 100 days of Biden’s presidency: After rapidly surpassing his initial goal of 100 million doses administered in 100 days, Biden watched as 200 million Americans received vaccinations.

Biden’s comments came in response to a recent survey that found that 40% of Marines will not take the vaccine. That translates to around 48,000 of the 123,000 Marines declining the shot when offered the chance to receive it.

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The requirement would only be after the vaccine receives final approval. Currently, vaccines are being distributed with "emergency use authorization" by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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So far, more than 237 million doses of the jab have been administered nationwide, with around 50% of Americans having received at least the first shot of a vaccine.