Pentagon pauses plan to offer COVID-19 vaccine to Guantanamo Bay prisoners

The Pentagon (the US Department of Justice Headquarters) on Saturday announced that it is pausing the vaccination of Guantanamo Bay detainees against COVID-19.

"No Guantanamo detainees have been vaccinated. We're pausing the plan to move forward, as we review force protection protocols. We remain committed to our obligations to keep our troops safe," tweeted Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

According to The Hill, the reversal comes days after the Defense Department said it would offer coronavirus vaccines to detainees at Guantanamo Bay, the prison in Cuba, with the rollout possibly coming as soon as next week.

The plan was to offer the 40 detainees at the base the first of two doses of the available vaccines "on a voluntary basis."

The plan had been met with fierce pushback, particularly by Republican lawmakers, before it was paused, especially in light of vaccine shortages across the country.

"It is inexcusable and un-American that President Biden is choosing to prioritize vaccinations for convicted terrorists in Gitmo over vulnerable American seniors or veterans," Representative Elise Stefk tweeted prior to Kirby's Saturday announcement.

"Nothing says #unity like letting the 9/11 mastermind & Gitmo detainees skip in front of millions of Americans for the COVID #vaccine," added Representative Dan Bishop, citing Biden's repeated calls for unity.

( With inputs from ANI )