The US military began inoculating American troops based abroad this week, focusing on civilian and military health workers, first responders and command teams.
Troops based in Japan, South Korea and Europe were the first to receive the vaccine amid growing cases of coronavirus worldwide.
Army Lieutenant Colonel Brian Cohee, pulmonary and intensive care physician, was among 20 other military personnel who received the vaccine at the Brian D. Allgood Army Community Hospital in Camp Humphreys, South Korea. Other locations that administer the vaccine Modern are Osan Air Base and Kunsan Air Base, both in South Korea.
Sgt. Parmer Smith, 129 medical detachment, administers one of the first COVID-19 vaccines to junior Navy officer John London, a hospital officer, SOCKOR Medics, at Brian D. Allgood Army Community Hospital at the US Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south Korea, Tuesday, December 29, 2020. (Esp. Erin Conway / United States Korean forces vis AP)
“I consider it a great privilege to be the only one to start here in Korea,” Cohee told Stars and Stripes. “I took care of a reasonable number of patients with coronavirus and saw what it can do.”
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U.S. forces in Japan started vaccinations at Yokota Air Force Base on Monday, after receiving just under 8,000 doses last week, a military spokesman said during an event on Facebook Live on Tuesday.
General Robert B. Abrams, chief of the 28,500 US troops deployed in South Korea, said in a statement that, while the vaccine is 100% voluntary and not mandatory, “I strongly encourage all eligible individuals to receive it.”
General Robert B. Abrams, commander-in-chief of the United States Forces of Korea, receives the COVID-19 vaccine at Brian D. Allgood Army Community Hospital, US Army Garrison Humphreys, in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Tuesday, 29 December 2020. (Staff Sgt. Kris Bonet / United States Forces Korea vis AP)
Abrams was among those who were vaccinated on Tuesday.
He told Stars and Stripes that the Modern vaccine was painless compared to the lingering effects of the series of anthrax vaccines he received when he entered Operation Desert Shield nearly two decades ago.
The deployment of US troops in South Korea aims to stem the potential aggression from the North, and Abrams said the COVID-19 vaccine “is another tool that will help the USFK maintain a robust combined defensive stance.”
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In Europe, the US Army said health clinics in Ansbach, Gragenwoehr and Vilseck, Germany, carried out their first vaccinations on health professionals on Monday.
US Army Captain Skyler Brown, family doctor assigned to the 1st Squadron, 91st Calvary Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, is the first in the entire US Army in Europe and Africa to receive the coronavirus vaccine. (US European Command Public Affairs)
“The FDA only authorizes the use of a COVID-19 vaccine after careful and rigorous testing and testing,” Brig. General Mark Thompson, general commander of Europe’s Regional Health Command, said in a statement. “We are excited to play a role in providing a very safe and effective vaccine for our military community. This vaccine is a vital part of our journey to protect our people, their families and the communities where we live and work ”.
The United States government and its partners will distribute 4.67 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, said United States Army General Gustave Perna last week.
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According to the FDA, the vaccine can cause some side effects, including pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever and other problems.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.