COVID-19 survivors who were hospitalized medically disqualified from joining military, per MEPCOM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A past COVID-19 diagnosis is a no-go for processing, according to a recently released MEPCOM memo circulating on Twitter.

A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to MilitaryTimes.com that the memo was authentic.

• A US Department of Defense spokesperson tells Action News Jax, the US Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM) policy addressing certain COVID-19 survivors’ eligibility for military entrance is interim guidance and was updated on Wednesday.
• The spokesperson tells us, according to MEPCOM’s updated guidance, anyone who was hospitalized with COVID-19 will be medically disqualified from the entrance process.
• However, survivors who were hospitalized can still get into the military, subject to further review of hospital and comorbidity records, if they get a waiver from a Service Medical Waiver Authority.
• The DOD spokesperson went on to say COVID-19 survivors who were not hospitalized can undergo military entrance processing 28 days after self-isolating.
• The DOD spokesperson says the MEPCOM’s interim guidance only applies to people trying to join the military, and went on to say it’s too early to tell whether local bases will be impacted by the measure.

The memo lays out guidelines for MEPS staff to deal with potential, as well as confirmed, coronavirus cases.

The memo states, “During the screening process, a reported history of confirmed COVID-19 will be annotated ‘Considered disqualifying’."

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