At Naval Medical Center San Diego preparations are underway to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to remaining unvaccinated sailors and Marines in the county.
This comes after the U.S. Secretary of Defense announced mandatory vaccinations for all service members to keep a healthy and ready force.
"In response to the Secretary of Defense’s memorandum earlier this week, we are ready to rapidly vaccinate the remaining sailors and Marines in the area," said Cmdr. Chris Lopez of Naval Medical Forces Pacific. "We will use shot exercises on the pier in San Diego and out in the field for the Marines at Camp Pendleton as well as our local military hospitals and clinics to do this. We are prepared to execute up to 7,000 shots daily between Camp Pendleton and San Diego."
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Sailors and Marines can be vaccinated at other military medical facilities and they can also use the same sites open to civilians, but if they choose to do that they will have to provide proof to leadership.
There are more than 100,000 active duty military in the region and even though coronavirus vaccines have been available for service members for months now, not all have elected to get them.
Pentagon officials said Wednesday in total 68% of active duty military members are fully vaccinated with an estimated 76% with just one dose.
"Once you’ve mandated it — as we’ve done — it’s a lawful order," said Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby. "It’s a lawful order and we fully anticipate that our troops are going to follow lawful orders. When you raise your right hand and you take that oath that's what you agree to do and it hasn't been a problem in the past with other vaccines."
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Kirby added that if needed service members can ask for religious and medical exemptions.
Military officials said under this mandate they will only be using vaccines fully approved by the FDA which right now includes only the Pfizer vaccine.
Military officials want all service members vaccinated in an “ambitious” timeline with regular status reports.
