FEMA finalizing application for up to 10,000 service members to support Covid-19 vaccinations

FEMA finalizing application for up to 10,000 service members to support Covid-19 vaccinations

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Service members could be sent to up to 100 locations across the country to support the administration of the shots, according to the spokesman. The Defense Department is awaiting a request from FEMA to help with vaccines, a defense official told CNN on Wednesday.

The news came after CNN reported earlier this week that the Department of Defense was considering options to assist President Joe Biden’s plan to vaccinate up to 1.5 million people a day in a few months. An officer previously said that up to 10,000 soldiers could be sent as part of the effort.

As of Tuesday, FEMA had committed more than $ 1.2 billion to states, territories and tribes for vaccination-related expenses at Covid-19 with 100% share of federal costs, the agency announced on Wednesday in a statement. press release.

That number is expected to grow in the coming days, according to the statement. FEMA will reimburse local governments for using their National Guard to respond to Covid-19 and other assistance, according to Biden’s memo last Thursday.

Biden increased his bet on his already ambitious vaccine expectations. When he said on Monday that he expects the US to soon be able to vaccinate 1.5 million people a day – raising the standard by nearly 500,000 vaccinations to more than the goal of 1 million a day in its first 100 days in office – he said that the US could surpass that initial target in about three weeks.
But the government was open to the reality that the federal vaccination effort faces several obstacles. Speaking with CNN’s Erin Burnett, Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, noted on Tuesday that while purchasing additional vaccines is important, the issues extend further, how to ensure that there are enough vaccination centers and people to administer the vaccines.

“It’s not just about vaccines, either,” said Klain. “In some states, Erin, the problem is a lack of people to give injections. We are working to increase this capacity. In some states there are not enough places. We announce the creation of federal vaccination posts. we need more vaccine, we need more vaccines, we need more places to give vaccines. We are working on these three things ”.

CNN’s Jason Hoffman contributed to this report.

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