{"id":59311,"date":"2021-01-12T20:00:30","date_gmt":"2021-01-12T20:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/01\/12\/the-pentagon-wont-say-how-many-covid-19-vaccines-its-given\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:55:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:55:47","slug":"the-pentagon-wont-say-how-many-covid-19-vaccines-its-given","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/01\/12\/the-pentagon-wont-say-how-many-covid-19-vaccines-its-given\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pentagon won\u2019t say how many COVID-19 vaccines it\u2019s given to troops"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Clarification: A previous version of this story said that the Defense Department did not provide numbers on the vaccinations it has distributed and administered. This story has been updated to reflect department-wide statistics provided by the CDC. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine <\/a>have shipped out around the country, including to more than 100 military installations, but the Defense Department has declined to share how many service members have received it<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, hundreds of thousands of doses have gone unused<\/a> nationwide, according to reports from states like California, New York, Texas and more. While DoD announced in December that 44,000 inoculations would go out in its first round<\/a>, the Pentagon has not released figures on how many troops have been vaccinated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s vaccination tracking site shows that 376,150 doses have gone out across installations, and 139,439 have been administered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore than 100 DoD locations have received vaccines or are scheduled to receive vaccines in the coming days, which means vaccines are available at nearly one-third of DoD military treatment facilities,\u201d Army Maj. Cesar Santiago-Santini, a Pentagon spokesman, told Military Times on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Santiago-Santini could not break down how many of those vaccinations went to service members, department civilians or other groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department\u2019s original plan started with 16 installations chosen for their health care staff populations and cold storage capacities, with orders to first vaccinate hospital and clinic staff, as well as emergency services and public safety personnel. Next would come \u201ccritical national capabilities,\u201d such as on-call counterterror teams, nuclear missile units, bombers and submarine crews, following by units preparing to deploy overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Defense Department’s phased approach to vaccinating its personnel against COVID-19 starts with health care workers, per CDC guidance. (DoD)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This was all part of a pilot program, Thomas McCaffery, the defense under secretary for health affairs, told reporters in December. Santiago-Santini declined to answer whether the distribution is still in a pilot phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Department of Defense maintains a deliberate and phased approach to distribute and administer allocations of the COVID-19 vaccine, he said. \u201cThe current distribution and administration process remains consistent with the department\u2019s established plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anecdotes have flooded in from around the country, particularly from hospitals and medical facilities, that fewer personnel than estimated have opted to take the still-voluntary vaccine, leaving thousands of doses hanging.<\/p>\n\n\n\t