High-level Department of Defense officials are mulling whether to make COVID-19 vaccine booster shots part of the mandate for U.S. troops, the Pentagon said Friday. “There are active discussions here in the department at the policy level about booster shots and whether or not to make those mandatory,” John Kirby, the department’s spokesman, told reporters during a briefing in Virginia. “There have been no final decisions made about that,” he added. The Pentagon is forcing every troop, active-duty or reserve, to get a jab unless they receive a religious, medical, or administrative exemption. Few exemptions have been granted so far. Zero religious ones have been granted. The mandate currently requires troops to become “fully vaccinated.” That refers to two doses in some cases, including for the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, or one dose in others, including for the Johnson & Johnson jab. The effectiveness of the vaccines, though, drop sharply against infection …