DOD ramps up vaccine efforts as services’ inoculation rates vary

2021-04-28T13:12:22-04:00

The U.S. Department of Defense last week renewed the push to inoculate the military from COVID-19, announcing that every eligible beneficiary can make an appointment to get the vaccination and pledging to regularly share data on DOD’s progress in administering the vaccines.

“We are encouraging everyone to get vaccinated because these vaccines are very effective and safe and are a critical part of us getting back to normal,” said Dr. Terry Adirim, acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, at an April 21 briefing.

As of April 26, DOD had administered around 2.7 million doses, a nearly 81% utilization rate. Another 440,000 doses were delivered through Tricare pharmacies and provider networks.

“We continue to see vaccine update rates increase with each passing week,” said Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, director of the Defense Health Agency, at last week’s briefing.

To assess the extent of this progression, DOD said it will now share information on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays regarding updated vaccination doses received and administered at https://rly.pt/3aIcW8U, including the number of service members vaccinated.

But a review of that data showed the military vaccination rate is not keeping pace with that of the general population.

About 22.7% of the 2.14 million service members on active duty and in the reserves and National Guard are fully vaccinated. According to data tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 28.9% of the general population are fully vaccinated.

Rates vary by service branch

Vaccination rates by service branch varied as well, data showed.

The Navy leads the way, having fully vaccinated 38.3% of its active duty and reserves population. The Marine Corps has fully inoculated 26.5% of its active duty and reserve population, according to the data, with the Air Force close behind at 25.1% of active duty, reserves and National Guard at full vaccination status.

The Army was at the other end of the spectrum, with just 14.3% of active duty, reserves and National Guard fully vaccinated. However, an Army spokeswoman said that its internal figures that are not yet reflected on DOD’s site show that the Army’s vaccination rate is actually closer to 30%.

“As vaccines become increasingly more available,” said Army spokeswoman Maj. Jackie Wren in a statement, “we are confident our vaccination numbers will continue to rise.”

The portal also reports on DOD’s incidents of novel coronavirus among military, civilian and contractor personnel and their dependents. As of April 26, there were 285,493 cases, 3,980 hospitalizations and 344 deaths.

Still, the lower rate of vaccination in the military has generated concern among some in Congress. Multiple news outlets reported that a small group of lawmakers, led by Rep. Jimmy Panetta, Democrat of California, sent a letter urging President Joe Biden to make the vaccination mandatory for service members. Biden would have to issue a waiver because the vaccines are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization.

DOD officials reiterated last week that its policy is that the decision to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine is voluntary.

More service members are eligible for vaccine

With eligibility for the vaccine now open to all beneficiaries, DOD officials anticipate an increase in vaccination rates. Until last week, Adirim said, most young and healthy service members weren’t yet eligible to get the vaccine. “So, that may have some impact,” she said.

Data from the Marines provided by its public affairs office sheds light on this phenomenon. As of April 23, a total of 93,500 Marines had been fully or partially vaccinated. However, almost the same number of Marines — 92,300 — had yet to be offered the vaccine.

At the same time, around 52,900 Marines had been offered the vaccine and declined. But officials said this could be because they obtained the vaccination on their own, were waiting until a later time or had a medical reason. Still others may change their mind once they realize that quarantine rules are eased for those who are vaccinated. And some percentage may never voluntarily get the COVID-19 vaccination.

Information could be key

To learn more about the reasoning behind vaccination choices, the Marines Corps will soon survey its population in hopes of better directing service members to information about the vaccine, Capt. Andrew Wood, spokesman for the Marines, told RallyPoint.

“We fully understand that widespread acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine provides us with the best means to defeat this pandemic,” Wood added in an emailed statement.

Anticipating the possible reasons for vaccine hesitancy early on could be partly why the Navy is ahead in the vaccine race. A small survey conducted in late January and early February gave the Navy a snapshot of sailors’ attitudes about the vaccine, Cmdr. Denver Applehans, public affairs officer for the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, told RallyPoint.

In findings generally mirroring those seen in public surveys, the snapshot showed that some sailors thought (erroneously) that the vaccines were developed in a rushed way. Others were concerned about the vaccine’s long-term side effects, which are few and mild for most. Many said they trusted the advice of medical professionals regarding the vaccine (the vast majority of doctors have taken or plan to take the COVID-19 vaccine).

These findings, along with public survey data from sources such as the Kaiser Family Foundation, Applehans said, guide the Navy’s development of myth-busting informational products that are shared through the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS).

In one video presentation released earlier this month, Rear Adm. Bruce L. Gillingham, the Navy Surgeon General, counteracted the notion that the vaccines were hastily developed. “In fact,” he said, “the work that led to the rapid production of the mRNA vaccine has been in development (for) well over a decade.”

Applehans said the Navy plans to continue to refine messages and vaccine outreach tactics until most of the fleet is immunized. “The more people we can get vaccinated the better,” he said.

Supply is not an issue

The DOD’s goal is for every service member overseas to receive their first shot by June 1, and for the entire force to be vaccinated by early summer.

Place said DOD officials have plenty of vaccine doses to make this happen, even with the CDC’s pause in the Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccine, which was lifted last week. He said the hiatus had minimal impact on DOD’s vaccination rate, adding that “we understood and agreed with the rationale for the pause.”

The majority of vaccine delivered overseas for use by service members, he said, is the Moderna version and more of those doses are being reallocated from U.S. to overseas locations.

Learn more

Access the latest DOD coronavirus information and vaccination numbers: https://rly.pt/32X8Q8I.

Ask about vaccine safety and appointments: Contact the TRICARE Nurse Advice Line at 1-800-TRICARE (874-2273), option 1 in the United States or visit https://rly.pt/3u6WnLK for non-U.S. phone numbers.

Make an appointment to get vaccinated: https://rly.pt/32WysT8.

Get CDC vaccination safety information: https://rly.pt/3xwdiJz

Visit DVIDS for service branch informational products about vaccines: https://rly.pt/3dYZakk.

Coronavirus: DOD Response

The Defense Department is working closely with the Department of Health and Human Services and State Department to provide support in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.

Response by PFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 28 at 2021 1:13 PM

2021-04-28T13:13:36-04:00

Thanks for the share

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Apr 28 at 2021 1:26 PM

2021-04-28T13:26:00-04:00

My wife and I got our first shot last week and we're slated to get the second one on the 19th of May RallyPoint Shared Content

Response by SPC Cathy Goessman made Apr 30 at 2021 9:26 AM

2021-04-30T09:26:19-04:00

Considering the stuff that I've seen soldiers post in comment sections the Army may need to really crack down on people spreading false information or attempting to intimidate people into not getting the vaccine. There should be zero tolerance for calling people names for getting vaccinated or making other types of disparaging comments about it. Group think and peer pressure can be a powerful thing.

Response by CPT Jerry Lucas made May 5 at 2021 12:53 PM

2021-05-05T12:53:34-04:00

I received my 2nd Moderna vaccine March 11th, at my local VA hospital. In my home county, Covid hospitalizations are rapidly increasing and the large majority of admissions have not been vaccinated. I'll let you all read the details for yourselves: https://www.kansas.com/news/coronavirus/article251153624.html

article251153624.html

Response by SPC Phil Norton made May 10 at 2021 2:37 PM

2021-05-10T14:37:22-04:00

Still using the military for Guinee pigs this is not a vaccine and it is 100% not known to be safe in humans or animals all I can say is I hope you all don’t regret getting. The fake vaccine 10 years from now. For those of you who say I don’t know what I am talking about my brother has a PhD in microbiology and he will not get the fake vaccine he states the effect of introducing mRNA to the humans body cannot be known because it has never been done