The U.S. military will require all service members to be vaccinated from COVID-19 and a timeline detailing when and how this will take place is in the works, officials say.

Shortly after the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA) announced its full approval of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday, August 23, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby addressed the military's updated guidance on the COVID vaccine during a press conference.

Kirby said the Department of Defense is "prepared to issue updated guidance requiring all service members to be vaccinated," adding that a "timeline for vaccination completion will be provided in the coming days" by DOD.

"We're going to move forward, making that vaccine mandatory. We're preparing the guidance to the force right now. And the actual completion date of it, in other words, how fast we want to see it get done, we're working through that guidance right now."

This August 23 update from the Pentagon is in harmony with a previous announcement from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that stated it was his intent to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for the military upon FDA licensure or by mid-September to seek a waiver from the President.