WASHINGTON – The Pentagon is considering sending active troops to major federally administered coronavirus vaccine centers, a major shift for the department and the first significant sign that the Biden government is moving to take more control of a program that states are struggling to manage.
© Jim Wilson / The New York Times
A vaccine site in Rohnert Park, California, on Wednesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency expects to create about 100 vaccine sites across the country as early as next month.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency expects to establish about 100 vaccine sites across the country as early as next month, and on Wednesday night asked the Pentagon to send aid to support the effort. The locations, and the use of military personnel within them, would require the approval of state governments.
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While many state governors have turned to National Guard units to assist in the mass effort to vaccinate Americans and overcome the most contagious variants of the coronavirus, the Pentagon’s role has largely been behind the scenes, providing help with logistics.
During his confirmation hearings last week, Lloyd J. Austin III, the defense secretary, said he would increase military support to control the pandemic. On Thursday, Max Rose, Austin’s senior consultant for Covid-19, said his first topic of conversation in meetings with senior leaders was to make this the “No. 1 priority. “
Sending troops to help set up sites, assist with logistics and even throw weapons is something the Department of Defense is “actively considering,” said Rose. He declined to provide details, saying Pentagon officials would be carefully reviewing FEMA’s request.
“Obviously we will provide this request,” said John F. Kirby, the Pentagon’s press secretary, noting that, after a review, it would likely be filled with more National Guard, reserve and active troops.
“I would say that we are talking about days, certainly not weeks, to achieve this,” said Kirby. “We know that there is an urgency.”
The military is likely to supply thousands of soldiers in the coming months, not unlike the mobilization that the Trump administration organized a few years ago to complement surveillance on the border with Mexico.
Many states and territories have created large vaccination sites and more than half are using National Guard members to give injections, using doctors, nurses, doctors and other injection specialists. FEMA, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security, has already told six states, two territories and Washington, DC, that it would spend $ 1 billion on vaccination measures, including community vaccination sites.
It was not immediately clear where vaccines would come from to new federal locations; they would likely be taken from the supply already given to individual states and territories. Most states have not come close to administering the vaccine they received.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has said he does not want “FEMA camps” in his state. “This is not necessary in Florida,” he told reporters last week after the Biden government publicized its plan to deal with the pandemic, including FEMA websites. “All we need is more vaccine”.
The Trump administration preferred that states manage efforts to combat the pandemic, leaving governors to purchase protective equipment for healthcare professionals and administer tests, contact tracking and other aspects of the response. While closing deals with pharmaceutical companies to accelerate vaccine development and offering guidance on who to prioritize in receiving vaccines, it largely left the states to manage its supplies.
State governments faced several obstacles to putting their vaccines in the arms, including resistance among some health and nursing home workers and others in priority vaccine groups, and difficulties in medical centers to manage their supplies.
The Biden government has set targets to vaccinate more Americans quickly, but it is unclear whether there will be enough supply if it manages to speed up the logistics system, especially with many Americans now awaiting the second injection.
The federal government had been reimbursing states – many of them struggling with huge declines in tax revenue – for just 75% of National Guard costs associated with coronavirus relief. The administration will increase to 100 percent, including the necessary support for the distribution and administration of vaccines, by the end of September.
Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting.
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