Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Sebastian Rothwyn | Steve A. Castleton, a civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army, presents a challenge...... read more read more
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NEW YORK -- Over 600 New York Military Forces members, working around the clock at New York City’s Jacob Javits Convention Center, helped put vaccines in the arms of 27,144 New Yorkers over a 48-hour period March 7 and 8.
The Javits Center, which served as an alternative care field hospital in the spring of 2020, is now serving a state mass vaccination site designed to vaccinate up to 8,000 people daily.
Members of the New York Army and Air National, Naval Militia, and the New York Guard, provide administrative, logistics, access control, and patient support at Javits. There are also New York National Guard medical personnel helping to give shots, although the bulk of injections are provided by civilian medical personnel.
The New York State Department of Health is responsible for the overall operation of the site but Guard personnel do most of the support work and staff the incident command post for day to day operations.
The large number of vaccines administered over those two days was a validation of the efforts of both civilians and military personnel at Javits, said Army National Guard Col. Mike Bice, the incident commander for the site.
“The daily records set here by this team is evidence that with hard work, dedication, common goals and the right people anything is possible,” Bice said.
The number of vaccines administered on March 7 and 8 was the most to take place anyplace in the nation, according to New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.
Steve Castleton, a civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army, who visited Javits on March 8 while representing the secretary, praised New York National Guardsmen for their efforts while presenting challenge coins to those on the overnight shift.
Civilian Aides to the Secretary of the Army, like Castleton, are business and community leaders appointed by the Secretary to advise and support Army leaders across the country. Castleton has been fulfilling this role since November of 2019.
Castleton greeted the Soldiers and thanked them for their service.
Getting a coin from Castletown was great, but the best thanks have come from the average New Yorkers who visit Javits, said Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Jasmin Hernandez.
“The best recognition we get is from our fellow New Yorker’s when the leave notes of thanks, and when they said, “thank you for helping us to get the shots,’” she said.
“For me, it is important to be part of the vaccination mission as I had COVID in the last year,” Hernandez said. “I know what it feels like firsthand, and it’s important for me to help others to get the vaccine so they don’t have to go through what I did
| Date Taken: | 03.11.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.12.2021 15:39 |
| Story ID: | 391313 |
| Location: | NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 279 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NY National Guard personnel help administer 27,000 vaccinations in 48 hours, by Mark Getman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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