WATCH LIVE: Pentagon officials hold news briefing

Briefing at 9:30 a.m. will be livestreamed in this article

FILE - This March 27, 2008, file photo, shows the Pentagon in Washington. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Pentagon on Feb. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) (Charles Dharapak, Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

(Update: This briefing is over. Please check back for more livestreams on KSAT.com).

Pentagon officials will hold a news conference on Wednesday morning, just hours after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered troops to get the COVID-19 vaccine immediately.

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Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby and Army Maj. Gen. William “Hank” Taylor will speak at 9:30 a.m. The briefing will be livestreamed in this article.

More than 800,000 service members have yet to get their shots, according to Pentagon data. And now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the Defense Department is adding it to the list of required shots troops must get as part of their military service.

The news conference also comes amid the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.

The United States clashed with some of its closest allies over President Joe Biden’s insistence on sticking to an Aug. 31 Afghanistan withdrawal date that will shut down a frantic international evacuation effort from Taliban rule.

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