The Federal Emergency Management Agency is asking the Pentagon to help with President Joe Biden’s plan to increase COVID-19 vaccinations across the country over the next three months, several reports said Thursday.
The Department of Defense is watching it, CNN reported.
“The department is evaluating the application and what types of support it can provide. Given the importance of the application, it will be reviewed urgently but carefully to determine which DOD assets can be safely made available to support. to the effort, ”Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
“As secretary [of Defense Lloyd] Austin has said DOD is committed to doing everything it can to help the government-wide effort against COVID-19, ”he added.
While the statement did not provide the number of troops that could be involved, an unnamed official told Reuters it could number in the thousands.
According to The Hill, possible solutions could include sending up to 10,000 active duty forces and the National Guard to the mega-vaccination centers.
Biden said Monday that the goal of vaccinating 1.5 million people a day in the coming weeks has been set.
“It will be a logistical challenge that goes beyond anything we’ve ever tried in this country, but I think we can do it,” Biden said during a press conference.
But White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday the goal was aspirational and White House adviser COVID-19 Andy Slavitt said the next day “months” will pass. that anyone who wants a vaccine can get one, The Hill reported.
Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, pointed to several obstacles the administration faces in achieving its vaccination goals.
“It’s not just about vaccines,” he said, the news media reported. “In some states … the problem is the lack of people to shoot. We’re working to increase that capacity. In some states there aren’t enough places. We’ve announced the creation of federal vaccination centers. So we need more vaccines. , we need more vaccines, we need more places to make them. We are working on these three things. “
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