FACT CHECK: Is Eglin Air Force Base Making COVID-19 Boosters Mandatory After Labor Day?
A post shared on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, purports COVID-19 boosters, testing, and masks will be mandatory at Eglin Air Force Base after Labor Day.
My son-in-law’s Air Force base in Florida is making masks, Covid-19 testing, and jab boosters MANDATORY after Labor Day.
All because TWO positive cases. They aren’t even sick. Mandatory testing to go on leave. JoeBiden’s @CDCgov is thirsty.
It’s coming folks. RESIST.
Never…— Scarlett Johnson (@scarlett4kids) September 3, 2023
Verdict: False
A U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) spokesperson denied the claim in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
Errol Clarke and Logan Bixler, two 96th Security Forces Squadron officers, provided aid to a woman who fainted while at a gas station near Eglin Air Force Base, according to an article shared via the base’s website. Medical services arrived on the scene after Clarke radioed for help, the same article indicated.
“My son-in-law’s Air Force base in Florida is making masks, Covid-19 testing, and jab boosters MANDATORY after Labor Day,” the X post, viewed over one million times, purports. A subsequent post claims the purported COVID-19 procedures are supposedly being adopted at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
The claim is false, however. There is neither reference to the purported claim on Eglin Air Force Base’s website nor its social media accounts. Likewise, the DOD has not issued a statement commenting on the claim. In addition, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports indicating COVID-19 boosters, masks, or testing would be mandatory at Eglin Air Force Base after Labor Day.
Furthermore, a DOD spokesperson denied the claim in an email to Check Your Fact.
“There have been no new requirements from the DoD regarding COVID,” the spokesperson said.
The Pentagon ended its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. troops back in January 2023, according to The Associated Press. The mandate was instituted in August 2021 by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the outlet reported. (RELATED: No, The CDC Did Not Say The New COVID-19 Variant Is More Contagious Among Vaccinated People)
Check Your Fact has also contacted Eglin Air Force Base for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.
