THE COMING MANDATE: At the direction of President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is moving ahead with plans to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for uniformed military members by mid-September, whether or not the vaccine has been fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

“I will seek the President’s approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September, or immediately upon the U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensure, whichever comes first,” Austin said in a “message to the force” memo released yesterday.