Report: CalGuard troops will be first to be ordered to get vaccinated 

–California National Guardsmen will be ordered to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by early August or face regular testing, Military.com has learned. The mandate comes despite the fact that the Defense Department does not have a vaccination requirement for the rest of the force.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced California will require all state employees to be vaccinated or face a weekly testing. That will include the state’s National Guard, for which Newsom serves as its commander-in-chief, a spokesman for the Guard confirmed Tuesday.

“The California Military Department, which includes the California Army and Air National Guard and the California State Guard, will fully comply with and implement the Governor’s directive on regular COVID-19 testing for those not vaccinated and vaccination verification of those who are,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Shiroma, a spokesman for the California Guard, told Military.com in a statement.

The news comes as concerns mount that cases of the highly contagious Delta variant are exploding among the large number of unvaccinated Americans.

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