Coast Guard reinstates 56 members previously dismissed for refusing COVID vaccines under Biden administration

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday that 56 U.S. Coast Guard members forced out over a Biden-era COVID-19 vaccine mandate will be reinstated with back pay, marking what DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called a major victory for "religious, personal and medical freedom."

Former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, under former President Joe Biden, issued a mandate Aug. 21, 2021, requiring all service members to get a COVID-19 vaccine. It was rescinded nearly two years later on Jan.