AWOL in Virginia’s vaccine stats
What does the absence of military in shot tallies mean for Hampton Roads?
Many of Barbara Lifland’s eligible family members have received a COVID-19 vaccine. She got hers at the Hampton VA Medical Center, as did her daughter and son-in-law. Her husband received a shot at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth.
The Virginia Beach resident got to wondering: Considering all those doses come through the federal government, were they being recorded in the state’s statistics, the ones the governor and other officials recite at regular televised briefings?
The answer is no. Coronavirus vaccines given out through the military are not included in Virginia’s data dashboard.
Defense Department and Veterans Affairs facilities receive federally allocated vaccines and don’t report the doses administered or distributed to the state, Larry Hill, a Virginia Department of Health spokesperson, said in an email.
“Of course any vaccinations they do for our troops, vets, employees and possibly families helps us build that herd immunity in our area,” Hill wrote.
So just how much does that ease the burden in military-heavy Hampton Roads? How many people in our region are getting vaccinated but not showing up in the state’s numbers?
It’s unclear. The feds wouldn’t say.
There are nine DOD vaccine distribution sites in Virginia, out of 254 nationwide. Locally, that’s the Portsmouth naval hospital as well as Fort Eustis, Langley Air Force Base and the Portsmouth Coast Guard Base.
Department officials declined to provide the numbers of doses they’ve given out, citing opera
tional security. At the national level, DOD has administered nearly 1 million doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
The department also said it does not track the number of vaccines given out by categories such as veterans or elderly family members.
For the vaccine rollout, DOD developed a “population schema” of prioritization. It’s currently in Phases 1A — health care, emergency and public safety personnel — and 1B — those with critical national capabilities, preparing to deploy, frontline essential workers and beneficiaries over 75.
The Navy recently gave out shots aboard the USS San Antonio and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower to deploying sailors, the Daily Press reported, and planned to expand such vaccinations. By Feb. 19, almost a quarter of activeduty sailors had gotten at least one shot. More than 80% of the Eisenhower Strike Group sailors got their first dose and will get the second at sea.
The military as a whole has struggled, however, to get troops vaccinated. Thousands of service members were refusing or putting off a shot as frustrated commanders scrambled to fight internet rumors, the Associated Press reported last month.
“We cannot make it mandatory yet,” said Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, commander of the Navy’s 2nd Fleet based in Norfolk, the AP reported.
“I can tell you we’re probably going to make it mandatory as soon as we can, just like we do with the flu vaccine.”
The Hampton VA Medical Center gets its vaccines straight from the manufacturer, not through the defense department. “As we receive we vaccinate,” spokesperson John Rogers said last week. The hospital has given out just over 8,300 doses to veterans and staff, he said.
Lifland, 69, the Virginia Beach resident, said she and her daughter got shots at the Hampton VA facility because they are caregivers for her son-in-law, a disabled veteran. They all went to their drive-through appointments for the first shots on the same day. Her husband went to the Portsmouth naval hospital soon after it started vaccinations, after seeing on social media that it was offering doses for people 75 and older.
Lifland said her teenaged grandson, who has medical issues, was the only family member to get a non-federal vaccine, through the city of Virginia Beach.
Watching friends and others in the community struggle to get vaccine appointments, Lifland said she’s very grateful they were able to get them so quickly. And she is trying to help others navigate the process.