The Department of
Defense announced its deliberate and phased plan to distribute and administer
initial and subsequent allocations of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Department continues to work closely with
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) on the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. As one
of the 64 jurisdictions to which the United States government has allocated
vaccines, the DOD plans to administer its initial allocation of 43,875 doses of
the COVID-19 vaccine to CONUS and OCONUS populations of DoD uniformed service
members, both active and Selected Reserve components, including members of the
National Guard; dependents; retirees; civilian employees; and select DoD
contract personnel as authorized in accordance with DoD regulation.
The two key considerations that inform the
Department’s plan are: 1) who will receive the vaccine; and 2) where the DOD
can most effectively receive and administer the vaccine.
The Department prioritizes DOD personnel to
receive the vaccine based on CDC guidance, which is informed by data gathered
during vaccine trials about the effectiveness of a vaccine among demographic
groups and the CDC assessment of the risks COVID-19 poses to certain
demographic groups. DOD prioritization schema is consistent with CDC guidance
and prioritizes those providing direct medical care, maintaining essential
national security and installation functions, deploying forces, and those
beneficiaries at the highest risk for developing severe illness from COVID-19
before other members of the DOD population.
Distribution will be conducted in phases. Due
to limited availability of initial vaccine doses, the first phase will
distribute and administer vaccines at select locations. Initial distribution sites
were selected by the DOD’s COVID Task Force from sites recommended by the
military services and U.S. Coast Guard, to best support several criteria:
·
Anticipated supply chain requirements for initially approved
vaccines (i.e. ultra-cold, bulk storage facility);
·
Local population of at least 1,000 priority personnel across the
military services to facilitate rapid vaccine administration;
·
And sufficient necessary medical personnel to administer
vaccines and actively monitor vaccine recipients after initial and second-dose
administration.
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 and in accordance with Operation Warp Speed
guidance.
