Service members who fought COVID mandate may lose jobs after religious exemptions for flu vax are denied | 21 April 2025 | Two service members have been denied religious exemptions to the flu vaccine and are at risk of being forced out of the military after they previously fought the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. A service member in the Marine Corps and another in the Air Force are facing separation from their respective military branches after submitting Religious Accommodation Requests (RARs) for the flu shot. Both men objected to the COVID vaccine mandate under the Biden administration and ultimately kept their jobs, but they may lose them under President Trump despite the routine approval of religious exemptions for vaccines before COVID.