The Pentagon has paused a plan to administer COVID-19 vaccines to prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba after the move was heavily criticized by Republican representatives and 9/11 survivors. “No Guantanamo detainees have been vaccinated. We’re pausing the plan to move forward, as we review force protection protocols. We remain committed to our obligations to keep our troops safe,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby wrote on Twitter on Jan. 30. Republican lawmakers took aim at reports that the Pentagon was to offer COVID-19 vaccines to the 40 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, while millions of vulnerable Americans wait in line for their turn to get inoculated. Those detained at Guantanamo Bay include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, which killed 2,977 Americans. There have been no reported cases of COVID-19 among the detention center prisoners. Early in the pandemic, the U.S. military stopped reporting cases at …