On October 4, 2022, U.S. Air Force Major General Phillip Stewart, commander of the 19th Air Force, laid a T-38C Talon on the flight line at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas.

On October 4, 2022, US Air Force Major General Phillip Stewart, commander of the 19th Air Force, laid a T-38C Talon on the flight line at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. (Kelly Reynolds Class 1 pilot/U.S. Air Force photo)

The U.S. Air Force allows instructors who have not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine to fly again, a change arising from an open lawsuit that prevents the U.S. Air Force from punishing those who refuse to get the vaccine. The pilot was grounded this summer.

Oct 25, 19th Air Force Commander Major General Phillip Stewart released a memorandum on Tuesday that shared with Military.com, overturning an August 19 decision that bans unvaccinated teachers from flying. "Instructor pilots who are ultimately denied religious or medical accommodations and require retirement or separation will be allowed to fly again until the U.S. court resolves the lawsuit regarding COVID-19 authorization," told the military in an email statement. One reason behind this change is that the affiliated forces at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio has filed a pending lawsuit that has led to temporary protections for more than 9,000 active-duty military personnel, active-duty reserves, reserves and National Guard members who demand religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine authorization.

While the October 25 memorandum of said the pending court case “does not affect” the Air Force’s policy of grounding unvaccinated flight instructors, Stewart wrote that he is restoring their flight privileges, adding that it is “in the best interest of the Air Force”, meaning that the policy may change again based on the outcome of the lawsuit.

Stewart wrote: "This guidance will be re-evaluated after the final court decision."

The 19th Air Force's Air Force Education and Training Command located at the Joint Base San Antonio , , has been grounded for instructor pilots for two months. Woods said the policy reversal only applies to instructor pilots. Students who refuse to receive the COVID-19 vaccine will still be suspended.

Woods said in an email: “Given the length of the administrative exemption process and the uncertain results of each specific case, student pilots who refuse to receive the vaccine will continue to be administratively detained by .” "To be prepared to the greatest extent, training will be given priority for vaccinated student pilots."

Since July 11, the day the latest data was released, the Air Force Department has administratively isolated 834 service personnel, and nearly 140 pilots and guardians have obtained religious exemptions.

According to recent vaccination data from the Air Force Department, 98% of the troops — active troops, reserve troops and the National Guard — have been vaccinated against COVID-19. About 12,000 of the 497,000 personnel of the Air Force and the Space Force have not been vaccinated yet.

As of October 18, the service department has approved medical and administrative exemptions for more than 1,000 vaccines.

Wright Patterson's service staff is part of a religious exemption lawsuit, represented by the New York-based law firm Siri & Glimstad. A press release from the company said they were all "discovered by a pastor in the Air Force holding a sincere religious belief , and the order to get the vaccine put a heavy burden on them."

Denieds often say that because of their perception of abortion, using fetal cell lines during vaccine development will prevent them from getting vaccinated. The development or production of Pfizer

and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines do not require fetal cell lines, but fetal cell lines replicated by abortion fetals were tested in the 1970s to ensure their effectiveness. Only Johnson & Johnson vaccines are produced using fetal cell lines.

To convince some people to oppose these religions, the U.S. Air Force announced in July that Novax — a COVID-19 vaccine developed without using human fetal-derived cell lines or tissues — will become a pilot and guardian option in the near future."Novavax may accept those who sincerely believe that they have limited choices from the vaccines they have provided," Major General Sharon Bennister, an air force surgeon and director of medical operations, said in a statement in July.

According to the latest data, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Air Force has reported about 163,000 cases of COVID-19 and 166 deaths.