DOD sending 1K active-duty troops to support COVID-19 vaccination centers

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved the deployment of 1,100 active-duty troops across the United States in support of a request from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's COVID-19 vaccination centers.

The troops, according to a Defense Department fact sheet, will support five FEMA COVID-19 vaccination centers and will comprise five teams of 222 troops from across the military services.

Each team will have 15 troops dedicated to command and control, 80 working as vaccinators, 15 registered nurses, 57 serving as clinical staff and 55 as "general purpose" personnel, according to DOD.

"FEMA and DOD will jointly determine when DOD vaccination capabilities are no longer required," the fact sheet states.

The troops should begin arriving within the next 10 days, according to DOD.

Meanwhile, FEMA has requested a total of 10,000 active-duty troops, the remainder of which are still to be determined.