COVID vaccine program concludes at Fort McCoy

Photo By Aimee Malone | A Fort McCoy, Wis., Soldier receives the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine May 4, 2021, at the Fort McCoy Occupational Health Clinic. May 4 was the last day the vaccine was administered on post, but the vaccine is now widely available in surrounding communities.  

FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

05.13.2021

Story by Aimee Malone 

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

The Fort McCoy Occupational Health Clinic administered its last shots of the COVID-19 vaccine May 4, wrapping up its vaccine program.

As the vaccine has become widely available in surrounding communities, demand for the vaccine has ebbed at Fort McCoy. Any adult is now eligible to receive the vaccine for free in Wisconsin.

Post officials said everyone who signed up for the program had been offered the vaccine before the program ended. All participants received both their first and second vaccinations.

Those who decide to get the vaccine later can still do so in the surrounding communities. The Monroe County Health Department and Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center both offer the vaccine. Several local pharmacies, such as Walgreens, The Medicine Shop, and Walmart, as well as Tomah Health, also offer the vaccine.

The Department of Defense’s Operation Warp Speed helped development of the COVID-19 vaccine. Using the resources of the federal government and the U.S. private sector, Operation Warp Speed accelerated the testing, supply, development, and distribution of safe and effective vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics to counter COVID-19, according to www.defense.gov.

Department of Defense officials continue to urge Soldiers and civilians to get the vaccine in an April 28 article by Army News Service.

“The danger of the COVID-19 disease clearly outweighs any risk or side effects from the vaccines,” said Lt. Gen. Scott Dingle, the Army’s surgeon general.

To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccination, visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/index.html. To learn more about Operation Warp Speed, visit www.defense.gov/Explore/Spotlight/Coronavirus/Operation-Warp-Speed/.

(Article prepared by the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office.)

• Date Taken: 05.13.2021
• Date Posted: 05.14.2021 13:56
• Story ID: 396313
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US