The Pentagon announced on Saturday that it has suspended a plan to vaccinate Guantanamo detainees against COVID-19 following a wave of criticism. This comes at a time when the United States is struggling to get vaccines to frontline healthcare workers and elderly Americans.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby tweeted, "No vaccine has been administered to any detainee at Guantanamo," adding, "We are pausing the plan while we review protocols to protect our forces. We remain committed to our responsibility to ensure the safety of our troops." The Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba holds detainees from the "American war on terror," including prominent figures from al-Qaeda and the alleged mastermind behind the September 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Defense had informed American media that it would vaccinate its detainees on a "voluntary basis." In response, prominent Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy tweeted, "We were told by President Biden that he would have a plan to defeat the virus on his first day in office. He never told us it would be to vaccinate terrorists before most Americans."
New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik said, "It's unjustified and un-American for President Biden to prioritize vaccines for convicted terrorists at Guantanamo over senior citizens or aging American veterans."
The United States has been the hardest-hit country by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 436,000 deaths and nearly 26 million infections reported. According to health officials, the U.S. has administered approximately 30 million doses of vaccine out of 50 million distributed. President Biden had pledged to vaccinate 100 million Americans in his first 100 days in office, but so far, the vaccination campaign has faced several hurdles, including vaccine supply shortages.
