Pentagon authorizes more personnel for U.S. COVID-19 vaccinations

March 8 (UPI) -- Additional U.S. troops will be involved in administering COVID-19 vaccinations to the civilian population, the Defense Department announced.

The next deployment will involve two Type 1 teams, to Georgia and Ohio, Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement on Saturday.

Over 2,200 military personnel are currently deployed at community vaccination centers in California, New Jersey, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

They are grouped into Type 1 teams of 222 service members, who can administer up to about 6,000 vaccinations per day, and Type 2 teams of 139 members, with about 3,000 vaccinations per day.

There are 25-person teams well, and the Pentagon has identified over 6,000 active duty service members involved, or soon to be involved, in the civilian vaccinations.

The deployments are authorized in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which serves the state-run vaccination programs.

The Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force are all involved in the vaccination effort. The first military COVID-19 vaccination center opened on Feb. 16, a Type 1 center staffed by the Army, at California State University Los Angeles.

The soldiers were deployed from Fort Carson, Colo., as well as Army North's Joint Task Force 46. At the time, FEMA requested up to 50 more Type 1 teams, as well as 50 Type 2 teams.