The Naval hospital in San Diego is helping a civilian hospital in New Mexico overwhelmed by COVID, as the military ramps up its reaction to the virus.
Starting in early December, the Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command in San Diego sent a team of 20 to San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, New Mexico. That state has seen a spike in COVID-19 admissions.
Other military teams have been dispatched to hospitals in Colorado and Michigan, which have seen similar spikes. President Biden has said another 1,000 service members will be called up to help overburdened civilian hospitals around the country, in January and February.
This comes as the military continues to respond to COVID-19 within its ranks.
As of this week, 169 Marines have been kicked out of the Corps for refusing the vaccine, says Major Jim Stenger, spokesman for Marine Corps Headquarters. Overall, the Marines have a lower vaccination rate than the rest of the military - 94 percent are fully vaccinated, as opposed to 98 percent being fully vaccinated among all branches.
The Marines have granted 1,026 administrative or medical exemptions. The reasons include: When a Marine had a reaction to the vaccine, or when they are stationed in places where the vaccine is not immediately available. Neither the Marines nor the Navy are expected to grant a religious exemption. The Marines have already formally rejected 3,080 of 3,192 Marines who applied for religious exemption.
The deadline has already passed for all active duty troops to be vaccinated. The next deadlines will be at the end of the year for the Navy and Marine reserves and the Air National Guard. Army National Guard troops have until June. The California National Guard has said they will comply with the federal and state policies which require troops to be vaccinated.
