About a third of service members have taken the COVID vaccine

The Marine Corps, however, shows a higher vaccination rate: 35 percent of its total force, both active and Reserve, versus the Army’s 25 percent across the active, Reserve and National Guard components. The Air Force, which also has three components, shows a 35 percent vaccination rate. The Navy has by far the highest rate, at 53 percent. There could be several explanations for those varying rates. DoD has been moving through a tiered vaccination scheme that prioritizes certain kinds of personnel and units, and the services have been able to make their own policies in terms of how they move through those tiers once they have offered doses to those eligible. There is also the factor of vaccine refusal, which the Pentagon is not tracking centrally. The Marine Corps has said that nearly 40 percent of its troops have opted not to get vaccinated.