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Pentagon officials have publicly said they would consider requiring COVID-19 vaccinations, as is done with more than a dozen other vaccines, after the FDA fully approves the vaccines.

\"I believe that when it's formally approved, which we expect pretty soon, we probably will go to that, and then that question will kind of be moot,\" Vice Adm. John Nowell told a sailor in a town hall question-and-answer video posted to Facebook last month.

It's reasonable that the FDA will fully approve the Pfizer vaccine by early September, a senior White House official familiar with the FDA approval process told ABC News Tuesday night.

However, while the two-shot Pfizer vaccine is considered suitable for most troops, the single-dose Johnson & Johnson is preferred in some cases, such as for those who are deploying overseas or aboard ships. A waiver from Biden would mean the DOD wouldn't have to wait for all of the vaccines under EUA to be fully approved before being able to require them, which would afford the Pentagon more options.

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