Fort Campbell soldiers who have not already received the COVID-19 vaccination will soon have to get in line for their shot.
President Joe Biden, who must issue a waiver for the Department of Defense to mandate vaccines without full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, said on Monday he backs Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s plan to require all U.S. military members to get the vaccine.
“Secretary Austin and I share an unshakable commitment to making sure our troops have every tool they need to do their jobs as safely as possible,” Biden said. “These vaccines will save lives. Period. They are safe. They are effective. Over 350 million shots have been given in the United States alone. Being vaccinated will enable our service members to stay healthy, to better protect their families, and to ensure that our force is ready to operate anywhere in the world.”
Austin issued a memo early Monday regarding mandatory vaccinations for active-duty military. He will seek the president’s approval by mid-September, said John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, clarifying an earlier miscommunication that the vaccine would be required by mid-September.
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“To defend this nation, we need a healthy and ready force,” Austin said in his memo to all Department of Defense employees. “I strongly encourage all DoD military and civilian personnel — as well as contractor personnel — to get vaccinated now and for military service members to not wait for the mandate.”
To this point, Fort Campbell soldiers ‘strongly encouraged’ to get vaccinated
Blanchfield Army Community Hospital administers the COVID-19 vaccine at Fort Campbell’s Passenger Processing Center next to Campbell Army Airfield. Soldiers, their dependents, retirees and contractors may receive the vaccine on a walk-in basis between 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. They may also schedule an appointment online.
As of Aug. 6, Blanchfield personnel had overseen the administration of more than 59,100 COVID-19 vaccines, said Laura Boyd, the hospital’s public affairs officer.
That number includes soldiers, retirees and dependents. The hospital does not provide information about the specific number of active-duty soldiers who have been vaccinated.
Although vaccines have been voluntary based on Department of Defense policy so far, Boyd said, “All employees and beneficiaries are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated.”
Fort Campbell has posted several videos on the Blanchfield Facebook page encouraging members of the installation to get vaccinated. Blanchfield commander, Col. Vince B. Myers, was featured in a video last week that noted the hospital was expanding its number of vaccination days to five a week. He also encouraged parents of children who are at least 12 years old vaccinated.
Myers is also taking the pro-vaccine message to civilian communities where Fort Campbell families reside. On Wednesday, he met with members of the Christian County Military Affairs Committee to explain Fort Campbell’s walk-in availability for the vaccine.
Additional information about vaccinations will be available during a live town hall meeting on Blanchfield’s Facebook page at 6 p.m. Tuesday, said Boyd.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
