Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has authorized a total of 25 teams to date with active troops to support with COVID-19 vaccination efforts. The move comes in response to a request from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday that Austin had authorized 20 additional teams, raising the total number of active staff supporting or preparing to support FEMA in the vaccination effort for more than 4,700.
The first five teams were announced last week, and the first installment of 222 people is at the site in what FEMA calls a “mega site” at California State University in Los Angeles to start operations next week.
Ten of the new teams will have 222 employees to support mega-sites, while the other 10 will employ 139 employees to support smaller sites.
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Kirby had no further details on which vaccination sites the troops will support or where the troops will come from.
“What we’re trying to do is be ready when we need to,” said Kirby. He added that, with the announcement, the Department can begin to ensure that staff are properly trained, resourced and that their officers have time to prepare for departure.
FEMA has requested support for 100 vaccination sites, with mobilizations likely to exceed the estimated 10,000 active duty soldiers initially requested by the federal agency.
Meanwhile, FEMA is seeking bids to hire trained vaccinators to assist in the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine. The agency is planning to hire thousands of medical professionals by mid-March, according to a statement released Friday. The contracted team will provide vaccine support for a variety of medical facilities, including community hospitals, state-run centers and federally administered vaccination sites. An FEMA official confirmed to CBS News that a draft statement indicated that federal contracts would have a total value of about $ 3 billion.
FEMA has provided states, tribes, territories and Washington, DC with more than $ 3.22 billion in expenses related to the COVID-19 vaccination. The government agency has already deployed about 2,000 employees across the country to support existing vaccination centers.
According to FEMA, the National Guard Bureau sent 1,201 vaccinators to 385 vaccination centers in 43 states and territories, with 351 interagency vaccinators sent to Arizona, Nevada, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Texas.
But cities and states are begging the federal government to send more vaccine supplies. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Wednesday that five of the city’s COVID-19 vaccine sites – including Dodger Stadium – will close on Friday and Saturday due to a lack of supplies.
“We are vaccinating people faster than new vials are arriving here in Los Angeles,” he said at a news conference on Wednesday night. “And I am very concerned now. I am concerned, as your mayor, that our supply of vaccine is uneven, unpredictable and often unfair.”
Vaccine demand is on track to exceed supply “in the foreseeable future,” Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced on Thursday.
During a news conference on Thursday, Hogan said that Maryland is not getting enough supplies to vaccinate the more than 2 million Maryland residents – including the elderly – who are eligible for the doses.
“They cannot make an appointment for a vaccine that does not yet exist,” said Hogan. “The basic problem is very simple: we need more damn vaccines.”
In Alabama, which currently ranks last in the US for vaccinations per capita, all vaccination sites are now reserved until April.
President Biden spoke the much-needed boost to vaccine supply during a visit to the National Institutes of Health labs on Thursday.
“It really turned out to be a huge logistical problem for us,” said Biden, targeting the Trump administration. “My predecessor – I will be quite frank – did not do its job in preparing for the huge challenge of vaccinating hundreds of millions.”