Photo By Thomas Reust | COVID-19 vaccines are prepared for Operation Danger Prevention on August 30, 2021 at...... read more read more
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On August 25, 2021 Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III released the “Mandatory Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination of Department of Defense Service Members” memorandum directing the armed forces to begin full vaccination of all service members.
Fort Riley launched Operation Danger Prevention on August 30, at Long Fitness Center to start the process of achieving the 100% vaccination target from the DOD.
A vaccination team made up of Fort Riley medical personnel is currently in the process of vaccinating Soldiers against COVID-19 to complete the task. The vaccination team has moved quickly to get the clinic operational in a limited amount of time.
“We identified our team early, and trained them up for the operation,” said 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team Surgeon, Maj. Bryan Stepanenko.
The team also garnered support from Fort Riley Public Health and Irwin Army Community Hospital staff. The new MHS Genesis system was in use, and that was supported by subject matter experts training the boots on the ground at the clinic. Public Health brought technical expertise, and their own networks to bear on any issues that surfaced during the initial set-up and current operations.
“We have paved the way with a lot of our relationships that we have built over the last six months or more being a part of the Mobile Vaccination team. We are able to partner with those agents to support this operation,” said Fort Riley Chief of Army Public Health Nursing Maj. Kimberly Moore.
Operation Danger Prevention takes up the entire gymnasium at Long Fitness Center, and consists of six stations to guide participants from in processing to the final records check. The effort includes personnel in place to direct participants on where they need to go in the large venue.
“They’ll come into the front doors here at the fitness center, then the Soldiers will be screened, before pivoting to a vaccination station,” said Capt. Rhyan Griffin, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.
The vaccination stations are manned by 18 medics who are specifically trained to administer the correct dosage and provide after care if needed for their patients. Vaccinated personnel are then held for at least 15 minutes in a holding area to ensure their safety before finally updating their records in MHS Genesis and MedPros. The two record systems ensure vaccinations are properly tracked wherever a Soldier is stationed, and provides the chain of command with insights into the medical readiness of their personnel.
On Monday, the team completed over two hundred and fifty vaccinations, and will continue to work through the next few weeks to provide inoculation services to the Soldiers stationed on Fort Riley. Senior Department of Defense officials are relying on operations like these to keep the fighting force in a ready position.
“Mandatory vaccinations are familiar to all of our Service members, and mission-critical inoculation is almost as old as the U.S. military itself. Our administration of safe, effective COVID-19 vaccines has produced admirable results to date, and I know the DOD will come together to finish the job, with urgency, professionalism, and compassion,” said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III in his August 24, 2021 memorandum to senior Pentagon leadership.
| Date Taken: | 09.01.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 09.02.2021 15:11 |
| Story ID: | 404446 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 127 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fort Riley health professionals ramp up for mandatory vaccinations, by Thomas Reust, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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