Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a request by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to increase vaccination efforts with active US troops, senior White House Covid-19 adviser Andy Slavitt said on Friday.
The plans provide for 1,110 military personnel to form into five teams to travel to five FEMA Covid-19 vaccination sites, according to the Pentagon. CNN reported on Friday that orders must require troops to be ready to be dispatched within 96 hours, according to two defense officials.
Slavitt confirmed on Friday that part of the group will begin arriving in California in the next 10 days to begin operations in the area around February 15, “with additional vaccination missions soon”.
He praised the military’s “critical role” in vaccination sites, which, he said, “will ensure that every American who wants a vaccine gets it.”
Slavitt said the Pentagon would provide more details during a meeting on Friday afternoon.
This effort is in response to a request from FEMA to the Pentagon to provide military assistance by providing vaccines to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of increasing the number of Americans who get vaccines during their first 100 days in office.
As of Friday morning, about 35.2 million doses of vaccine were administered in the United States, with about 6.9 million people having received their second dose, according to data reported by the Control and US Disease Prevention.
The US Northern Command in Colorado Springs is now expected to decide exactly which troops to go and could include active duty personnel and the National Guard.
There is already a separate deployment of the National Guard across the country. “There are more than 20,000 national guards deployed to provide COVID support, including at more than 216 vaccination sites in 36 states and territories,” said Max Rose, Covid Senior Counsel to the Secretary of Defense.
The Pentagon has also kept hundreds of employees on alert to prepare to assist in overburdened health facilities and hospitals across the country.