(Newser)
– U.S. military leaders said Thursday that recent problems with the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine have made it difficult to prevent gunfire for forces abroad and that vaccines have been offered to the families of members of the coronavirus. service or other Level 2 beneficiaries in only 40% military locations outside the US. At a Pentagon press conference, they said they were offsetting Johnson & Johnson’s deficit by sending more Modern vaccines to forces outside the country. The temperature and other requirements for the Pfizer vaccine make it more difficult to ship them overseas. Johnson & Johnson had to discard 15 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine last month because the batch did not meet quality standards. The expected loss of vaccines was a bigger problem for the military, according to the AP, because it had gone to Johnson & Johnson’s shooting for overseas distribution, as it only requires one dose and does not need the strict temperature controls that others do.
Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, director of the Defense Health Agency, told reporters that according to President Biden’s latest guidelines for all adults, vaccines will be offered to all adults. eligible troops, family members and other beneficiaries as of April 19th. and their families abroad have expressed frustration at their inability to get a vaccine, especially because many are in areas, including across Europe, that have been hit hard by the pandemic. Place said in many locations, vaccines are still offered only to Level 1 people, including deployed troops, health care or emergency workers, and beneficiaries 65 years of age or older. He added that while only 7% of the Department of Defense’s eligible population is outside the U.S., the Pentagon sends 14% of the doses it receives abroad. Still, for service members or their families abroad who have not been vaccinated or told when they will be “those numbers mean nothing,” Place said. “And it’s understandably frustrating.”
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