WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s administration announced on Friday that the Pentagon had approved the deployment of 1,100 active troops to aid in COVID-19’s vaccination efforts in the United States, a number likely to increase in the coming weeks and months .
The pandemic killed more than 447,000 Americans and put millions out of work.
Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to the White House’s COVID-19 response team, said in a briefing that part of the group would arrive in California within 10 days.
The Pentagon said the 1,110 troops would be split into five teams, each with vaccinators, nurses and clinical personnel.
The stake is probably just the first installment of US military personnel to help administer vaccinations across the country.
White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said last week that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is working with the Pentagon to deploy 10,000 troops and open 100 centers across the country to increase the availability of vaccines.
Using the army to fight the coronavirus is not new. At its peak under former President Donald Trump, more than 47,000 National Guard troops supported COVID-19 operations and about 20,000 continue to assist.
The Army Corps of Engineers has also built thousands of rooms across the country to help hospitals deal with the stress caused by the spread of the coronavirus.
By Idrees Ali