Pentagon pauses plan to give COVID-19 vaccine to prisoners at Guantanamo Bay
Pentagon Joe BIden
ThePentagonsaid Saturday it was putting on hold a plan to give Covid vaccines to terror detainees at Guantanamo, following an outcry as the United States struggles to deliver jabs to frontline workers and vulnerable elderly Americans.
"No Guantanamo detainees have been vaccinated,"Pentagonspokesman John Kirby tweeted. "We're pausing the plan to move forward, as we review force protection protocols. We remain committed to our obligations to keep our troops safe."
The Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba houses detainees in the US "war on terror," including top Al-Qaeda figure and alleged 9/11 attack planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
The reversal comes days after the Defense Department said it would offer coronavirus vaccines "on a voluntary basis" to detainees at Guantanamo Bay, the prison in Cuba, with the rollout possibly coming as soon as next week.
The plan had been met with fierce pushback, particularly by Republican lawmakers, before it was paused, especially in light of vaccine shortages across the country.
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"It is inexcusable and un-American that President Biden is choosing to prioritize vaccinations for convicted terrorists in Gitmo over vulnerable American seniors or veterans," Representative Elise Stefanik tweeted prior to Kirby's Saturday announcement.
"Nothing says #unity like letting the 9/11 mastermind andGitmo detainees skip in front of millions of Americans for the COVID #vaccine," added Representative Dan Bishop, citing Biden's repeated calls for unity.
The United States has been the world's hardest-hit country by the coronavirus pandemic, in absolute terms, with 436,000 deaths and nearly 26 million cases.
President Joe Biden has pledged to vaccine 100 million Americans in his first 100 days in office, but so far the country's mass inoculation drive has been beset by stumbles, including a shortfall in vaccines and widespread technical difficulties for eligible Americans trying to make appointments.
According to health officials, the US has so far administered just under 30 million of the nearly 50 million doses distributed in the country.