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8 | MHCE - News www.mhce.us DECEMBER 2021 EDITION By the end of the day Monday, time slots for all of the approximately 600 sessions were gone, according to an online appointment site. For the four vaccination clinics scheduled at Ramstein in January, only one time slot on Jan. 7 was still available as of Tuesday morning. Ramstein medics have administered about 2,200 booster vaccines, both Moderna and Pfizer, base spokesman Lt. Col. Will Powell said in a statement Monday. US military booster shot drive in Europe goes into overdrive amid COVID-19 surge KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccine boosters to the U.S. military community in Europe has given way to ramped-up efforts to get the additional jab to everyone who’s eligible as quickly as possible. And in many locations, appointments are being scooped up as soon as they become available. In the past week alone, the Army nearly doubled the number of booster shots administered at its base clinics on the Continent, Gino Mattorano, a spokesman for Regional Health Command Europe, said Tuesday. At the end of November, the Army had vaccinated about 4,100 individuals with a booster, less than 5% of the estimated 100,000 people at Army bases in Europe eligible for vaccinations. Mattorano estimated that the total now stands at about 25,000. Initially, the Army had intended to expand its booster campaign after the holidays while it focused on administering the pediatric vaccine, which was recently approved for children 5 to 11. But with Germany and other European countries that host American troops experiencing a record surge in cases and high demand for the booster, the Army reversed course and opened more appointments. The Army’s last vaccination clinics before the holidays will be Monday, Mattorano said. Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the Army’s largest overseas hospital, has administered about 11,000 boosters and started partnering with the 21st Theater Sustainment Command and the 30th Medical Brigade to add booster vaccine appointments, Mattorano said. On Monday, Ramstein Air Base opened more booster appointments Friday for its last scheduled vaccination clinic before the holidays. “The process remains fluid,” he said. “As cancellations occur, appointments open up.” Most bases are using the Defense Health Agency’s online portal for appointments. It allows people to make more than one appointment for the same shot. Military officials said it’s important for users to cancel previous appointments and not double-book. However, there is no penalty for neglecting to cancel previous appointments, and it is permissible to make multiple appointments simultaneously to accommodate other family members. In some German states, including Rheinland-Pfalz, home to tens of thousands of U.S. personnel, a booster shot negates vaccinated individuals’ testing requirement for indoor dining and other activities. Germany’s new government is looking at applying that exemption across the nation to encourage more booster shots and relieve testing capacity. Booster shots for people ages 16 and 17 are still hard to get, depending on location. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved boosters for older teens. LRMC was showing available booster appointments for ages 16 and up for Jan. 6. Other Army bases were also offering the booster to older teens, Mattorano said. Ramstein officials said Monday that they are awaiting official guidance from the Air Force on when to begin offering the booster to 16- and 17-year-olds. At Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany, health officials “are exploring options” for making booster shots available to 16- and 17-year-olds, 1st Lt. Megan Morrissey, a spokeswoman for the 52nd Fighter Wing, said in a statement Tuesday. U.S. Navy officials did not respond by deadline about their efforts to provide booster shots to their personnel in Europe. TO ADVERTISE contact Susan.Keller@mhce.us
WWW.MHCE.US Monthly Newsletter | 9 Cmdr. Lucian Kins was relieved of his duties Friday as second in command of the USS Winston Churchill, a destroyer, by Navy Capt. Ken Anderson, commander of Naval Surface Squadron 14. Officials said Kins was the first naval officer to be fired as a result of a vaccine refusal. Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Jason Fischer declined to give the precise reason why Kins was relieved of command, citing privacy concerns. Fischer, who is spokesman for the Naval Surface Force Atlantic, said the reason for the firing was that Anderson lost confidence in Kins' ability to perform his duties after he failed to obey a lawful order. Other officials, however, said it was because Kins refused the order to get the vaccine, and refused testing to ensure he did not have the virus. Navy Commander Fired After Refusing to Get COVID Vaccine WASHINGTON (AP) — A Navy commander has been fired from his job as the executive officer of a warship because he refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine as required and refused to be tested for the virus, Navy officials said Friday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel issues. One official said Kins has requested a religious exemption, which was denied. Kins is appealing that denial. The Pentagon has made the vaccine mandatory for all service members, and Navy personnel had until late November to get their shots or request exemptions. Thousands of service members have asked for religious exemptions, but so far none of the military services have approved one. Fischer said Kins has been reassigned to the staff of Naval Surface Squadron 14. Lt. Cmdr. Han Yi, the ship's plans and tactics officer, is temporarily serving as the Churchill's executive officer until a permanent replacement is identified.
