PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Medical personnel on certain aircraft carriers based in Hampton Roads will be among the first to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
Staffers in key positions on the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), USS George Washington (CVN 73) and USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), will get their COVID-19 shots the week of Christmas. They'll receive the vaccine at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth.
That medical center was one of the first military treatment facilities to receive a shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 15. They'll continue to provide vaccinations to healthcare workers assigned to the medical center.
Vaccine distribution for the Department of Defense is phase-driven. Officials chose a few sites like Naval Medical Center Portsmouth to receive the vaccine first in the initial phases.
“We are tracking a majority of medical personnel to be completed with their first dosage of the vaccine before New Year’s Eve,” said Cmdr. Jeff Delzer. “There is a lot of enthusiasm and gratefulness to getting the first dosage and everyone who I have spoken with are highly motivated to get vaccinated.”
While Moderna and Pfizer were on track to get their vaccines FDA-approved, CDC recommended that healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents and staff be first on the priority list for vaccinations.