The U.S. Navy announced that it discharged 20 sailors for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a Wednesday news release, while the Marine Corps confirmed that 251 Marines have been discharged. The service said that as of Jan. 5, there have been 20 “entry level separations” due to COVID-19 vaccine refusals, which is the first round of discharges. It “reflects service members who, since the time of the vaccine mandate, were separated during initial training periods within their first 180 days of active duty,” according to the Navy’s update. The Marine Corps on Thursday also confirmed that 251 Marines have been discharged for refusing to take the vaccine to date. “To date, there have been 3,260 requests for religious accommodation concerning the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. At this time, 3,115 have been processed and zero requests have been approved,” the Marines said. The Navy, meanwhile, said that “there have …