{"id":64617,"date":"2022-10-31T21:48:05","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T21:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/10\/31\/air-forces-unvaccinated-instructor-pilots-allowed-to-resume-flying\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:14:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:14:30","slug":"air-forces-unvaccinated-instructor-pilots-allowed-to-resume-flying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2022\/10\/31\/air-forces-unvaccinated-instructor-pilots-allowed-to-resume-flying\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force\u2019s unvaccinated instructor pilots allowed to resume flying"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force is allowing unvaccinated instructor pilots to return to the air after barring them from flight this summer, the service confirmed Oct. 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart, the head of 19th Air Force, said Oct. 25 that it is \u201cin the best interest of the Air Force\u201d for instructors to resume their regular in-flight duties until further notice, according to a memo obtained by Air Force Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nineteenth Air Force is a subunit of Air Education and Training Command that oversees the pilot training pipeline. Its restriction lasted just over two months.<\/p>\n\n\n<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link smg-interstitial-link--fallback wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/coronavirus\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__fallback-link\">Read all Military Times coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here<\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aryn Lockhart, a spokesperson for the organization, said the move would bolster military readiness but did not offer further details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart plans to revisit his decision once an ongoing class-action lawsuit challenging the vaccine mandate is resolved. The case, Hunter Doster, et al v. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, is heading toward a trial in U.S. District Court in Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In July, a federal judge issued an injunction that stops the Air Force from punishing or separating anyone who filed a request to be exempted from the vaccine mandate on religious grounds. The Air Force had kicked out more than 830 airmen and guardians who refused vaccination as of July 11, the last time it updated that number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As of July 12, the Air Force had denied about 6,800 initial religious waiver requests and 3,600 appeals, and has not ruled on nearly 3,500 more cases. In contrast, 135 airmen and guardians had secured religious exemptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service had approved more than 1,000 medical and administrative exemptions as of Oct. 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About 10,000 airmen and guardians are part of the class-action suit that argues the military is unfairly forcing people to receive a vaccine, which they object to on religious grounds, or lose their job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group includes anyone in the active duty Air Force and Space Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force Academy and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps who have asked for a religious exemption to the vaccine since Sept. 1, 2021, showed a sincere religious belief opposing the jab, and whose requests were denied or are not yet settled.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2022\/09\/15\/air-force-vaccine-case-will-remain-a-class-action-appeals-court-rules\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22249550852282.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Air Force vaccine case will remain a class-action, appeals court rules<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Oral arguments in the appellate case are scheduled for Oct. 19.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart noted that the injunction didn\u2019t reverse his decision to stop instructors from flying. Still, he said, he felt it would be better to get pilots back in the air while the lawsuit is in limbo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While instructors can return to doing their jobs as usual, training for unvaccinated students will remain on hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn order to maximize readiness, training will be prioritized for student pilots who have received the vaccine,\u201d Lockhart said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Service spokespeople have repeatedly told Air Force Times \u2014 both before and after the Aug. 19 order to ground unvaccinated instructors \u2014 that vaccine refusal hasn\u2019t slowed pilot training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Air Education and Training Command hasn\u2019t answered how many new pilots it graduated in fiscal 2022, which ended Sept. 30. The service typically aims to train around 1,500 new pilots annually but has fallen short in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/07\/15\/federal-judge-temporarily-halts-air-forces-covid-19-vaccine-mandate\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/vax.jpg_f461e3.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Federal judge temporarily halts Air Force\u2019s COVID-19 vaccine mandate<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The temporary order brings the case, Doster v. Kendall, closer to trial as a class-action lawsuit.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearly 12,000 airmen and Space Force guardians across the active duty force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve remain unvaccinated against COVID-19. They comprise 2.4% of about 497,000 total uniformed Air Force and Space Force members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force has declined to answer repeated requests for the number of unvaccinated instructor pilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most service members who refuse the shots say they oppose any connection to fetal cell lines or tissues that were derived from aborted fetuses years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pfizer and Moderna\u2019s mRNA products used cells replicated from a fetus aborted in the 1970s to make sure the vaccines worked in human cells. The fetal cells were not used to produce either vaccine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnson &amp; Johnson uses cells replicated from a fetus aborted in 1985 to produce its vaccine, but those cells are filtered out from the final product.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/02\/09\/air-force-approves-first-religious-exemptions-to-covid-19-vaccine-for-9-troops\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-4-2.jpg-2.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Air Force approves first religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine for 9 troops<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">For weeks, the Air Force said it granted no religious exemptions. Now it&#039;s approved the most in the military so far.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other vaccines that claim not to have remote ties to abortion practices, like India-made Covaxin and another made by the American company Novavax, are available now as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to encourage Americans to get fully vaccinated with one of the four vaccines authorized for use in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCOVID-19 vaccines available in the United States are effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized and dying,\u201d the CDC says. \u201cAs with other vaccine-preventable diseases, you are protected best from COVID-19 when you stay up to date with the recommended vaccinations, including \u2026 boosters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than 1 million Americans have died from coronavirus since the global pandemic began in December 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is \u201cin the best interest of the Air Force\u201d for instructors to resume their regular flight duties, Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart said in an Oct. 25 memo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":71975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":88,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[82,29,116,15,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3446],"class_list":["post-64617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coronavirus","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ODGI4BDOXRCI7JK4QYO3DGM7IY","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/31\/air-forces-unvaccinated-instructor-pilots-allowed-to-resume-flying\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Air Force\u2019s unvaccinated instructor pilots allowed to resume flying - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It is \u201cin the best interest of the Air Force\u201d for instructors to resume their regular flight duties, Maj. 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