Dr. Terry Adirim, acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, and Army Lt. Gen. Ronald J. Place, director of the Defense Health Agency, provide a COVID-19 update to the news media at the Pentagon, March 26, 2021.
Transcript
Good afternoon, everybody. Happy Friday to you. Today we’re gonna focusing on, uh, coronavirus covid 19 and the department’s efforts, uh, to distribute and vaccinate our our troops and to all the other support issues that were that were participating in, um And so we have two special briefers to join us today. The acting assistant secretary for Health Affairs, Terry Adira. Um, and I think you all know Lieutenant General Ron Place, the director of the Defense Health Agency. They’re each going to have a few comments to kick it off the top. Uh, and then we’ll start taking your questions again. Will be alternating between questioners on the phone as well as those of you here in the room. So with that, I’ll turn it over to Terry. Thank you, Mr Kirby. Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for joining us here today. And for all the important work you do communicating with the public general place and I just want to say a few words as Mr Kirby said before we get to answering any of your questions, D o d. Is playing a key role in supporting the whole of government approach to defeating covid 19, particularly in support of vaccination of our service members and other beneficiaries, but also our fellow citizens through the FEMA mission, as the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, it is my responsibility to set health policy for the department. And under the Biden administration, we conducted a review of all covid related policies and force health protection guidance and have updated several based on newly issued CDC guidance, for instance. And just as one example, the department rapidly incorporated the CDC guidance for vaccinated individuals to allow them to be exempt from quarantine and testing if they should be exposed to somebody with Covid going forward. As we learn more and working in close collaboration with the C. D. C, we will continue to update our guidance to ensure our D. O D personnel are safe and can perform their missions. In the meantime, we are vaccinating our service members and eligible beneficiaries as fast and as safely as possible in alignment with President Biden’s announcement that vaccine will be available to all Americans in May, we will be ready to open up vaccination to all eligible D o D beneficiaries by May 1st, we are committed to contributing to the president, achieving his goal of 200 million shots in 100 days. And we rely on you to communicate to your readers, viewers and listeners, especially within our military community, that covid vaccines are safe and effective, like the civilian sector. Early on, we were aware that some service members were hesitant to accept vaccination, but now we are seeing more and more step forward to get it when it’s their turn. And I want to use this opportunity to thank every service member who has gotten vaccinated. They are not only protecting themselves, but they’re also contributing to the safety of their teammates, their families and their communities. The light at the end of the tunnel is near. I know you’ve heard that over and over again, but it’s true. Vaccination is one critical part of getting our country back to normal. Along with continued testing and adherence to public health measures like masking and social distancing. We just can’t let up at this point. R D O. D personnel have done a phenomenal job. I’m very proud of all of them. We’ve administered more than 1.8 million shots within D o D and more than five million shots have gone into arms by a military service members in support of the FEMA mission. I’ll now turn it over to general place. You can give more detail about our vaccinations. Thanks, Dr Darren. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I’ll add a few details to what Dr Durham has already given. In her overview, the military health system is administering Covid vaccine at 343 sites around the world. At the same time, nearly 3000 military personnel are currently deployed to support Federal Emergency Management Administration led efforts at civilian vaccination sites around the United States, with more expected soon. A special thanks goes out to our superbly trained, enlisted medical forces, carrying out these responsibilities with compassion and with distinction. Well, there’s some lag in data transmission to the CDC. We’ve currently administered more than 1.8 million doses of vaccine to over 1.1 million eligible diode beneficiaries. We’re thankful for those who have taken this step protecting themselves, their teammates, their families and those most vulnerable. These figures include service members, military retirees and family members and certain civilians and contractors. Over 600,000 our service members, Active Reserve and National Guard and of those of those, 600,000 received at least one dose of the vaccine, representing approximately 30% of the force. The diodes prioritization balances, lowering operational risk of the force along with those most vulnerable to infection. While military installations have different sized populations with different missions, almost all sites are currently vaccinating those deployed or preparing to deploy strategic defense forces those over the age of 75 frontline essential workers. Many are also vaccinating those between the ages of 65 75 those ages 17 to 64 with an increased risk to severe illness if infected. It’s important to note that about 60% of our military personnel are in that final tier of our vaccination priorities that is generally young without underlying health conditions and not currently required in an operational mission. We have not yet begun offering vaccinations to those individuals in that tier. At most military installations, meaning more than half the force has not yet been offered a vaccine. This is similar to most US jurisdictions. Further, the supply chain is working and working well. We’re receiving what we’re allowed to order and shipments are arriving on time. We’re administering vaccines as quickly as we receive them. As production continues to expand, we expect the supply demand imbalance to be resolved. And in only a few weeks. The addition of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine bolstered our supply and has been particularly helpful in reaching our overseas population and austere locations because it does not have the ultra cold storage requirements of other FDA approved covid 19 vaccines based upon current supply and vaccination rate projections, I’m confident will open vaccinations to every eligible person at almost all military installations on or before May 1st consistent with the president’s March 11th pledge to all Americans. I speak with military medical commanders around the world every week and work through the issues that are confronting for vaccinations. We exchange best practices and refine our communications efforts based on what our leaders on the front lines share with us. As Dr Dear mentioned, we’re seeing individuals who may have initially been wary about the vaccine. Now come forward and ask for it. I expect that trend to continue finally, like doctor and your, um, I’m also a physician and welcome the opportunity to get vaccinated. I tell my family, several of whom also served in the military, that these are great vaccines and to get them at their first opportunity. And I offer the advice that I give to my family to all diode beneficiaries. And quite frankly, to every American, these are safe, effective vaccines and are critical weapons in our fight against covid. 19. All Americans who received their care from the Department of Defense and would like to be vaccinated will have that opportunity over the next few months, whether abroad or here in the United States. Thanks to progress in administering these vaccines, combined with our ongoing public health measures and laboratory testing, we truly are turning a corner in our country and in the d o d. Thanks again for being here this afternoon. I look forward to assisting Dr Damon answering your questions. Well, thank you, General Place and Dr dear, um, with that, we’ll go to questions. Start by the phone address, Waters address. Let’s go to the next one. Abraham, Watch Examiner. I hear somebody. Hello, Abraham. It is a dress from writer. Sorry, I was amused. Um um, super good question on the Pentagon reservation. Um, firstly, how many cases have there been at the Pentagon itself? And by what? Did you expect everyone at the Pentagon itself to be fully vaccinated? Uh huh. If if if we know that answer, I don’t personally know it. But if we know that answer will have to take that one for the record and in terms of when everyone on the Pentagon reservation, I would suggest that that’s the same as it is for everywhere else. There are those in every every tear, uh, here on the Pentagon Pentagon reservation, just like any other military installations. So sometime in mid to late summer is my expectation that all who want to be vaccinated will be vaccinated on the Pentagon reservation. Thank you, Megan. You mentioned you’re seeing more people take the vaccine now than they were maybe a couple months ago. Given that the Pentagon is not centrally tracking, who’s saying yes and who’s saying no. How do you know that that rate has increased? Is it because your district you’re administering more, more quickly? What leads to that conclusion? Yeah, sure. I’ll take that. So, at every location, at every installation, we have everyone, um, a collection of people who in particular tears and as we move through those tears that we know who accepted and who who didn’t come in or didn’t try to make an appointment, that sort of thing. But when we know who’s gotten it, we circle back to those who haven’t and and offer it again on an iterative basis. And as we re offer it, many who who at first just declined the opportunity are now taking us up on that opportunity. That’s what we mean by that. So that’s my follow up is if you rejected it the first time around, Are you able to get in contact with your health care provider? Absolutely. I’d be careful about using the world were rejected for something that’s voluntary. They didn’t take up the opportunity the first time when we asked the second time. Then they did take up the opportunity, and some. It’s been the third or fourth time we’ve offered. They’ve taken the opportunity, but are they able to not just being offered? Are they able to call up and say, Hey, can I get it? Once you’ve been contacted, your forever eligible perfect Let’s go back to the phones, Abraham. Me there. Mm. Um, You to a new buttons, apparently. Okay, True. Mhm pandemic man. We’ll come back to Abraham. Let’s go to Jack. Testing purpose. Thank you. A question for both briefers. What data can you share about the numbers of service members who initially declined to get vaccinated and then reconsidered? We don’t collect that data centrally, so we don’t have that data. As general Place has said, um, we do get some suggestion that those who might have hesitated to get it at first or accepted initially are coming back and getting vaccinated. But we just don’t collect that data centrally were very focused on providing education and as much information as our service members and their families need in order to make the decision and getting vaccines into arms. If I could follow up if you don’t have data, how can you make that assertion? Are you going off of anecdotes? No. The data that we do have as those who have accepted it so within our tearing system. So the prioritization scheme that we have once a particular location has moved through that part of the tear into the next tier. And yet those in the first tier the numbers go up. It’s not an assertion again. All we track is those who who accept it. But we see the acceptance rates on the initial tears. So initial tears of the first responders, right? So when we came here three months ago and had this conversation, that’s who we talked about. The health care practitioners, first responders, the police, the fire departments, etcetera. And over time, the percentage of those who have become vaccinated continues to rise. That’s how we know if I could ask if local commands have this, Why are you unable to tabulate and co elated? Well, uh, so you’re talking about local commands. Those are service members specific, some of whom are task organized, who aren’t assigned necessarily to the unit but who are attached to it. So the systems that we have to keep track of our service members and then the civilians who Oh, by the way, we’re still responsible for who aren’t necessarily on Manning documents or adding in contractors will be healthcare contractors or first responder contractors. It’s an amalgamation of lots of different systems. So in order to get information to the department of where we are. We’ve essentially just added big lists of people on different locations. Now the challenge really is like everywhere else in the world. Your personal health information is protected as we have to be very, very careful about what we share outside of it, from a healthcare delivery part to what we share with anyone else so we don’t manage it the way that you’re suggesting we might manage it. All we manage is anonymous data, so you know when it comes to list etcetera, anonymous data. So we know who’s accepted it. But we don’t have specific details about whether, for example, I’ve accepted it or Dr Durham’s accepted or any other person, because that’s personal health information. Perfect. We’ll go back to the room foreign, the benefit of the place you had said a few weeks ago. The acceptance rate was about two thirds of that was based on very early anecdotes are suggestions. I was wondering if there’s an update to that, given what you’ve just said, and what do you expect to happen to that number as you open it up to tier to the general military population, which is a generally younger and B does not have the compelling reason of a deployment of frontline workers to get the vaccine. Sure, so so I’ll go back to the first. I don’t think I’ve ever publicly said a number. The person who may have said the number I don’t know where that number came from because I don’t track that number as the person who’s responsible for the distribution administration of vaccine within the force. That’s not something that I that I that I review. So all that I review over time is is where we are. Where does the vaccine need to go? Where does it fit into the scheme? Where do the acceptance rates those sorts of things further? To make sure that those areas that require two doses So the first two emergency use authorizations went to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines required to vaccinations at a defined period to make sure there’s enough vaccine to get those second. Those are the types of statistics that I measure. So from a from A have you accepted or not rate again, I don’t I don’t I don’t keep track of that but to go to the final tearing the general population again. We’ll go through the operational requirements, and we’ll go through what’s available at a particular location. So some bases have a bigger population and others in early tears and less and later tear. So all that factor goes into where we allocate the vaccine for and then how we follow it. And then the weekly phone calls that I mentioned that I have. Is there other resources that particular locations need to be able to vaccinate what they’re responsible for at this point? Those are all the factors that I follow centrally, as we support the application of the vaccine at these 343 locations, does that answer your question? Following based on the rates you’re seeing now in terms of the vaccines, are getting the vaccines you expect to get. When might the force for everybody who wants it in the force be vaccinated? You have an estimate on that? Well, again, it’s gonna depend on uptake rates, right? So if most one it’s going to take longer if less one, it’ll take less time. Based on the projections that we have will supply side and vaccination side, we do fully expect to be open to all Americans are all of our d o d eligible populations on or before the first of May And at current uptake rates for those who want to get it, we think by the middle of July or so again, assuming the vaccine supply continues as it is, assuming nothing else takes away from our vaccinators. So again, projecting just where we are now, middle of July, we think the department we vaccinated any consideration of trying to create some sort of incentive once you open it up to everybody. No, no plans to do that. Thank you. Back to the fountains, Peter. Okay. Hi. Yes, thank you very much. Peter Ludwig Disassemble a couple of weeks ago. Congressman complained at the hearing, um, about troops and families overseas getting a vaccine, which he called inferior. Um, and General, you mentioned a minute ago that the J and J bolstered your supply because it doesn’t have the same cold chain requirement, but cold chain requirements does don’t mean very much to the troops and family members who are getting it. Um, what are you doing to ensure that those deployed overseas don’t feel like they’re being treated as second class. Thank you. You can have that. Well, the first part that I’ll answer to that is every single one of these vaccines are shown through rigorous clinical trials to be safe and effective. And second, none of these vaccines have been truly measured in the exact same circumstances. So we would really caution anyone from comparing any efficacy or safety or any other factor of any of the vaccines against each other because it’s not been done. But if you look at them all, all three of them in general, all three of them in general are very safe. All three of them, in general, are very effective, and all three of them have some advantages. And the one really unique well, to unique advantages to this third vaccine is first, doesn’t require that cold chain requirement and second only requires one dose, all of which make its efficacy. I mean, the actual effectiveness at the operational force to be greater. So we think this is a better vaccine for the circumstances in those austere environments. Perfect. Back to the room, Lucas General Place. Where do you think this virus came from? In China? Well, that’s the way outside of my area of expertise. I have no idea, because the former CDC director Robert Redfield, said he thinks it escaped from a lab in Wuhan. Is there any reason to think he’s wrong? I have no information to speak one way or another. I’m sorry. Do you think it’s important that we find out? I think it’s good to have information about lots of things. Can you rule out that it was a bioweapon? I have no basis to answer that question. I’m really sorry. Back to the phones. Let’s see. Carol, New York Times. Thank you, ma’am. Sir, can you provide the science or public health explanation for placing fully vaccinated people arriving at Guantanamo Bay and the 14 day long? And what is the tipping point for when that will no longer be necessary? Yeah. Um mhm. Uh, we are constantly reviewing and working with the C D. C. To look at the science to determine, um, whether we need to rahm and how long we need to rahm for those who are fully vaccinated. And we post these, uh, force health protection guidance is on our website and we are constantly reviewing them and determining what the best measures are for ensuring the safety of our service members and the people that they work with and their communities. So the standard is fully vaccinated. People get a 14 day run on arriving at the base. Is that consistent with the rest of the deployed locations? We are currently looking at this. We’re working with the C D. C. Um, to determine what the best way to handle Rahm for travel. Thank you, Carol. Next question for you now the U. S. Troops. Everybody knows that he has, like, they have a great, uh, things about the vaccinations and how they distribute that vaccination and help the people, even the citizen people inside the United States. So, do you have any plan to share that experience with your partners outside overseas? Like especially with the countries that already hosted. But the U. S. Troops like Iraq, like, uh, South Korea. Do you have any planning above that? Please? I don’t have any information at this time with what we may be doing, Um, as you describe, um, the services, maybe, um, doing some of that type of work, But I’m not aware we can Take that back. Go back to the phones, Raj. Yes, thank you. Actually, I, uh, the gentleman before me just ask that question, but let me just rephrase that question. Uh, in in Syria and particularly the sdf, your partner that are fighting Isis, are you Is there any plans to help them to get some sort of vaccination? As we know, vaccination is probably important to fight against Isis. But also, what is the status of your troops vaccinations in Syria and Iraq in particular going into the ocean. The second part? Yes. From the second part, Uh, we’re not going to release, at least centrally any any vaccination statistics for any particular combatant command that that they feel comfortable releasing would refer you to to centcom. But what I can tell you is that as I mentioned in my opening comments, the amount of vaccine that’s going to the geographical combatant commands, uh, is significant, Um, and is being prioritized through that that scheme of a critical national Defense forces. So they’re receiving a significant amount of vaccine and and are utilizing it as fast as we can get it to them. Any comment on the first part? of the question if there is any help to any, any way that you guys are thinking in terms of helping the SDF in particular to get vaccines, I don’t think either of us are aware of anything that’s either happening or not happening. But we’re happy to take that for the record and get you whatever answer we can. We’ll take that question. Um, back to the room, sir. Uh, we were down here with the diplomatic times. Uh, the Pentagon announced this week that they’re going to allow migrant Children to be housed in a Texas military base if I have my information. Correct. How does the Pentagon vaccination broken apply to these migrant Children? And who’s going to administrator? Sure, the entire system is under health and human services. So you’re right. It’s on military bases, but their entire care feeding, etcetera and medical care vaccinations, whatever it might be, will be under health and human services. So we’re partnering with them to provide the location, but every aspect of only handled by HHS just to follow up to that. Is there any unease with potentially having Children on a military base that have not been vaccinated? potential unease. Well, there’s a lot of variables in that. I think that people can be uneasy about lots of different things, but the department’s position as well as HHS position as we understand that we’re in this as a partnership. We’re providing the location for them. But the protocols for separating our forces, our families from that particular population significant effort is going into that to to, you know, take into account that potential uneasiness of those two particular locations. So, yes, we understand it. Yes, we’re aware of that. We’re going to great effort. So to keep them separate. Thank you. And back to the phones. Alan from synopsis. Hi. Thank you so much for doing this today. Um, I have a quick question about are you tracking in the number of D. O D beneficiaries who have been vaccinated? Are you tracking those who might have been vaccinated as part of the FEMA sites, for example, family members who might have gotten a leftover dose at the end of the day, right? We’re not tracking that data. We’re not We’re not tracking that data. We wouldn’t have any way to track it unless they were to report it back, but no. Right. So it’s all that said specifically where they get it? No. But any family member, any D o d beneficiary gets it outside of our system. We’ve asked for them to bring that information and put it into our electronic health record systems so that we’re aware of it. That said, it requires their voluntary movement to do that. But we’ve asked for it. That would be the level of information we have, and that would be it. Okay, thank you very much. Thank you. And I think that is I think that’s it. All right, well, thank you very much again. Maybe one more back to Florence questions the quick follow up on incentivizing troops. How about like an extra day of leave for what civilians would call a day of vacation? Is that being considered troops to get the vaccine? So individual commanders, because they have command responsibility, anything that’s in their legal purview for incentives, they have that opportunity to do that. But there’s no central incentive that’s being considered within the department right now, But I think you know, the secretary of the department is taking this concern seriously and taking efforts to raise awareness about the importance and efficacy of the vaccine itself. All right, well with that. Thank you, General Place. Thank you, Doctor dear, um, give any further questions. My pleasure. Take OSD public affairs. Thank you.