TACOMA, Wash. — The Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) will be among the first military bases in the country to get the coronavirus vaccine.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced the vaccine distribution on Wednesday, and JBLM is one of a dozen bases first on the list.
The DOD plans to administer its initial allocation of 43,875 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to all the bases. It's unknown how many vaccines JBLM will get.
Those who will be eligible to receive the vaccine include uniformed service members, dependents, the National Guard, retirees, and civilian employees.
Distribution will be conducted in phases. Due to the limited availability of initial vaccine doses, the first phase will distribute and administer vaccines at select locations.
Initial distribution sites were selected by the DOD’s COVID Task Force from sites recommended by the military services and U.S. Coast Guard.
JBLM was selected for its:
- Anticipated supply chain requirements for initially approved vaccines like ultra-cold, bulk storage facility.
- Local population of at least 1,000 priority personnel across the military services to facilitate rapid vaccine administration.
- Sufficent and necessary medical personnel to administer vaccines and actively monitor vaccine recipients after initial and second-dose administration.
You can see the DOD's vaccine distribution plan here.