HONOLULU (KHON2) — The Department of Defense (DOD) has announced its phased plan to distribute and administer the COVID-19 vaccine to military personnel. Among the several distribution sites chosen was Tripler Army Medical Center.
The department says its working closely with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, with plans to administer 43,875 doses initially.
The question is who will receive the vaccine first and where can the DOD most effectively receive and administer doses?
DOD personnel providing direct medical care, maintaining essential national security and installation functions, deploying forces and similar beneficiaries will be prioritized. DOD says this decision is based off CDC guidance and believes those individuals are at the highest risk for developing severe illness from the virus. As a result, those personnel will be given priority access to the vaccine above other members of the DOD population.
Under the first phase of the plan, civilians, contractors, students and other non-clinical staff working in Military Treatment Facilities will also be eligible to receive the vaccine.
Distribution is expected to be conducted in phases. Due to limited availability of initial vaccine doses, the first phase will distribute and administer vaccines at select locations.
Initial vaccination sites in the continental United States (CONUS) are:
- Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, TX
- Willford Hall, Joint Base San Antonio, TX
- Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA
- Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, NC
- Navy Branch Health Clinic, Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, FL
- Base Alameda Health Services (clinic), U.S. Coast Guard Base, Alameda, CA
- Naval Medical Center, San Diego, CA
- Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton, CA (distribution from San Diego)
- Naval Hospital Pensacola, Pensacola, FL
- Armed Forces Retirement Home, Gulfport MS (Keesler AFB will administer) (distribution from Pensacola)
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD
- Armed Forces Retirement Home, Washington, DC (distribution from Walter Reed)
- Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, VA
- U.S. Coast Guard Base Clinic, Portsmouth, VA (distribution from Portsmouth Naval Medical Center)
- Indiana National Guard, Franklin, IN
- New York National Guard Medical Command, Watervliet, NY
Initial vaccination sites outside of the continental United States (OCONUS) are:
- Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI
- Allgood Army Community Hospital, Camp Humphreys, Korea
- Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany
- Kadena Medical Facility, Kadena AB, Japan
The distribution of the allocated COVID-19 vaccines will begin once the Federal Drug Administration authorizes the COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
Additional details on the DOD vaccine distribution plan can be found here.
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