The Pentagon approved an additional 20 military teams, a combined total of 4,700 military personnel, to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administer COVID-19 vaccines across the country.
After the approval of five of these teams last week, the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
Lloyd AustinOvernight Defense: Air Force Joins Army and Navy to Eradicate Extremism | Biden kills Trump emergency order for border wall Air Force leaders announce new review of extremism in service Eliminating extremism in the armed forces is a difficult – but necessary task MORE authorized an additional 20 to support FEMA in vaccination mega-sites and smaller sites, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday.
The 20 will be divided into 10 teams of 222 employees supporting mega-vaccination sites and 10 teams of 139 employees helping in smaller locations.
All teams, largely composed of active service forces, will be dispatched “as requirements evolve”.
The Pentagon announced last week that it had authorized an initial number of 1,100 active members to assist FEMA at five state vaccination sites, a response to the agency’s request to the Department of Defense in late January to help with the 100 million people. vaccinated by the Biden government in the target of the first 100 days.
Of the first five approved teams, only one was announced and deployed, a team from Fort Carson, Col., who arrived in Los Angeles to support a vaccination megacube. Kirby said the team hopes to be up and running on Monday.
He added that the Pentagon will soon have more information on where the other four teams will be sent, but that it is a complicated process that requires coordination with local and state officials.
“We don’t want to go too fast to overload the process or the system,” said Kirby.
The Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security, of which FEMA is a member, have in recent weeks discussed how the military can help the agency with President biden
Joe BidenWashington Post economics reporter: The Federal Reserve counters arguments that Biden’s COVID-19 plan is too big. Advocate of marijuana legalization: ‘This could be a priority for Congress’ Blinken, UN chief shares first call after the US returns to Climate Agreements, WHO MOREThe ambitious goal of vaccinating 1.5 million people a day in the coming weeks.
Possible solutions addressed include sending up to 100 active duty teams and National Guard forces – a total of 10,000 soldiers – to vaccination sites