Service members are not expected to be at the front of the line to receive the coronavirus vaccine when it is ready, unless they are health care workers or at high risk of contracting the disease, the Stars and Stripes reports.
The military was not set aside as an individual population group to be prioritized in any of the four phases of distribution for a vaccine, S&S adds, they would receive the vaccine using the same priority criteria as civilians.
However, service members from five U.S. military locations will be asked to volunteer for the final stage of clinical development for the potential coronavirus vaccine.
The facilities selected re:
• Naval Medical Center San Diego in California
• Joint Base San Antonio Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas
• Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center in Texas
• Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland
• Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia
Service members, their families and retirees near the selected facilities are being asked to volunteer for the study.
The military will also be key in supporting a quick distribution of the vaccine across the country. Operation “Warp Speed” seeks to produce 300 million doses of a vaccine to be delivered by January 2021, according to the Defense Department.
As of Wednesday, 38,424 service members had tested positive for the virus, 575 required hospitalization, seven have died.
