Vaccine refusals in intelligence agencies raise GOP concerns

By NOMAAN MERCHANTNovember 5, 2021

FILE – Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, left, next to CIA Director William Burns, testifies at a House Intelligence committee hearing on diversity and equity in the intelligence community on Oct. 27, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Thousands of intelligence officers could soon face dismissal for failing to comply with the U.S. government’s vaccine mandate, leading to concerns from Republican lawmakers about potentially hurting agencies considered critical to national security. Haines says she doesn’t anticipate the mandate affecting the mission of national security agencies. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of intelligence officers could soon face dismissal for failing to comply with the U.S. government’s vaccine mandate, leading Republican lawmakers to raise concerns about removing employees from agencies critical to national security.

Overall, the percentage of intelligence personnel who have been vaccinated is higher than for the American public — 97% at the CIA, for instance. But there are lower percentages in some of the 18-agency intelligence community of approximately 100,000 people, according to Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah.

Citing information that he said had been provided to the House Intelligence Committee but not released publicly, Stewart said several intelligence agencies had at least 20% of their workforce unvaccinated as of late October. In some agencies, as many as 40% are unvaccinated, Stewart said. He declined to identify the agencies because full information on vaccination rates was classified.

READ the entire article published in the Associated Press on November 5, 2021

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