US Army Has Approved Only 20 Permanent Religious COVID-19 Vaccine Exemptions

A soldier watches another soldier receive his COVID-19 vaccination from Army Preventive Medical Services in Fort Knox, Ky., on Sept. 9, 2021. Jon Cherry/Getty Images

The U.S. Army announced on July 21 that it has approved just 20 permanent religious exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, after receiving thousands of requests.

Out of the 8,000 applications for a permanent religious exemption, a total of 1,465 have been reviewed by the Army. Just 20 have been approved—an approval rate of about 1.37 percent.