The sailors had asked for and been denied an exemption to the vaccine requirement on religious grounds and were facing the threat of being discharged from the Navy. Following a vaccine mandate, more than 99% of the Navy's active duty force was vaccinated against COVID-19, and the Navy has also discharged 650 people for refusing to be vaccinated.

A federal judge in Texas is barring the Navy from taking action for now against sailors who have objected to being vaccinated against COVID-19 on religious grounds.

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor had in January issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Navy from disciplining or discharging 35 sailors who sued over the Navy's vaccine policy while their case played out. On Monday, O'Connor agreed the case could go forward as a class action lawsuit and issued a preliminary injunction covering the approximately 4,000 sailors who have objected on religious grounds to being vaccinated.