The National Guard is shipping doses of Novavax’s newly approved COVID-19 vaccine out to units in hopes it will help shrink the number of unvaccinated Guardsmen who face expulsion.
The new lottery applies to military, military staff and family members who were vaccinated through the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, or the National Guard.
The voluntary COVID-19 vaccine effort stands in stark contrast to the Pentagon’s mandatory Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program, which began in 1998. Those who refused often faced harsh penalties.