JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, approximately 780 Department of Defense military medical and support personnel are deploying to Florida and Pennsylvania to support five state-run, federally-supported Community Vaccination Centers, or CVCs.
U.S. Army North, the Joint Force Land Component Command of U.S Northern Command, will oversee the joint military COVID-19 response operation in support of state and federal vaccination efforts.
“Supporting FEMA and these states by delivering vaccinations to Pennsylvanians and Floridians is a team effort,” said Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson, ARNORTH and JFLCC commander, “Four of the six service branches will help our federal and state partners in these new vaccination centers, giving more people access to vaccines.”
In Florida, 556 service members will support four, 139-person, Type 2 Teams in four cities.
One team from the U.S. Army will support the CVC at Valencia College-West Campus in Orlando, while another U.S. Army team supports the CVC at Miami Dade Community College (North Campus) in Miami.
Additionally, one team from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force will support, respectively, the CVCs at Gateway Mall in Jacksonville and at the Tampa Greyhound Track in Tampa.
In Pennsylvania, one, 222-person, Type 1 Team from the U.S. Marine Corps will support the CVC at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.
According to FEMA, a Type 1 Team is capable of administering up to 6,000 vaccinations a day, while a Type 2 Team is capable of administering 3,000 vaccinations per day.
These military medical and support personnel join others in California, New York, Texas, New Jersey and the U.S. Virgin Islands already supporting the whole-of-government vaccine response.