Syringes are prepared for doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic targeting minority community members at St. Patrick's Catholic Church on April 9, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by AFP)

Washington, April 11 (RHC)-- Nearly 40 percent of U.S. Marines have refused to take COVID-19 vaccinations, prompting Democratic lawmakers to call on the administration to make the inoclution mandatory.  According to a CNN report, approximately 75,500 Marines have agreed to be vaccinated as of Thursday, while around 48,000 have declined.
 
Marine spokeswoman Colonel Kelly Frushour claimed that Marines may be refusing the vaccination for a number of reasons, including allowing others in more vulnerable groups to take it first, allergies to the vaccine or obtaining it by other, non-military means.
 
Frushour said the military leadership needed to “build vaccine confidence” among military forces first, noting that the hesitant Marines who are reluctant against the shot now can always get “vaccinated when the next opportunity presents itself.”
 
Another 102,000 or so Marines, including active-duty and reserve troops, are still in line for the shot and have not had the opportunity to accept or decline as of yet.  Meanwhile, a group of Democratic lawmakers have urged the administration of US President Joe Biden make the vaccine mandatory for soldiers.
 
Not getting vaccinated poses a “critical threat to our national security and public health,” the group of lawmakers led by California Rep. Jimmy Panetta said.
 
Around 25 percent of the U.S. population are not willing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to a new poll from Monmouth University.