As the Department of Defense works to fulfill a request for vaccine assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency it's simultaneously struggling with vaccinating its entire force as COVID-19 related fatalities continue to grow.
On Friday, the DoD approved 1,100 service members to support FEMA COVID-19 vaccination centers. The update comes a week after FEMA submitted a request. DoD officials said at the time that the department was carefully analyzing the request to determine how best to fulfill it while also maintaining DoD forces for other COVID-19 operations.
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"Given the significance of the request, it will be reviewed urgently but carefully to determine what DoD assets can safely be made available to support the effort," Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in an emailed statement last week. "As Secretary Austin has said, DoD is committed to do as much as it possibly can to assist the whole-of-government effort against COVID-19.”
While 1,100 service members have been approved to provide support, up to 10,000 were requested. DoD is still determining how or if to fulfill the request in full.
"These teams will include medical and support personnel but will be largely medical personnel," Kirby said at a briefing on Friday. "We are supporting FEMA and FEMA will determine which site each team supports."
Meanwhile, on the DoD's own COVID-19 front, service members are declining the vaccine at similar rates as the general population, meaning roughly half. Defense officials lack specific statistics on how many within the force have declined the vaccine, but it remains strictly voluntary.
In total, the DoD has administered 500,000 vaccines. The military infection rate remains slightly lower than the general population -- 8.8% and 9.2% respectively -- as it has throughout the duration of the pandemic. Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs, the Joint Staff Surgeon said during a press briefing last week that the increase in cases appears to have "leveled off across the United States" and the same trend is appearing in the military population.
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But that still amounts to 225,753 infected across the force as of Wednesday -- and 252 dead.
Two service member COVID-19 deaths were added to the DoD's tracker website on Wednesday bringing the total to 19. Both were reportedly Guard troops -- one from Alabama and one from California. No additional details have been provided regarding the fatalities including whether these troops were part of the D.C. Guard mission which has gained media attention for its lack of COVID-19 prevention methods.
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The Department of Defense also updated its mask guidelines to include that all personnel on military installations or performing DoD roles off-installation will wear masks. This includes in shared outdoor spaces.
Reach Elizabeth Howe on Twitter at @ECBHowe.