Skip to main content

Military Health System

Test of Sitewide Banner

This is a test of the sitewide banner capability. In the case of an emergency, site visitors would be able to visit the news page for addition information.

From coast to coast, Navy personnel helping stop COVID-19 spread

Image of Military personnel wearing face mask getting people ready for the COVID-19 vaccine. Navy Capt. Benjamin Schwartz (left), from Navy Medicine Readiness Training Command Bremerton, is supporting community-based vaccination sites in New Jersey. FEMA personnel along with the Department of Defense’s Title 10 Vaccination Support Team are helping residents to get vaccinated for COVID-19 (Photo by: Kenneth Wilsey, Federal Emergency Management Agency)

Navy Medicine Readiness Training Command Bremerton has sent several staff members across the continent to aid the Department of Defense Community Vaccination Center support.

Navy Capt. Benjamin Schwartz, chief experience officer and pharmacist, and Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Erick Morcillo of surgical services are deployed as part of U.S. Northern Command to assist whole-of-government vaccination efforts in New Jersey

Schwartz and Morcillo are but two of approximately 6,000 Navy Medicine active and reserve component personnel deployed in support of operational COVID-19 missions, augmenting the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The two departed in March with a Navy and Army team of 23 members from across the nation. As part of DOD's Title 10 Vaccination Support Team, they have been working directly with FEMA, Joint Task Force Civil Support, New Jersey State Police, other law enforcement officers, local departments of health, AmeriCorps, Rutgers University nursing students, and other DOD staff and partners.

They are helping to provide Moderna COVID-19 vaccinations to more than 1,800 people weekly in three urban underserved communities in Orange and Newark, New Jersey.

"We are in a supporting role to FEMA and New Jersey including relevant departments of health," said Schwartz, working out of vaccination sites that include local churches and schools.

The DOD received a request from FEMA in February for support in administering COVID-19 vaccine at locations across the country. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin approved the request to augment and expedite vaccinations nation-wide, ordering the first contingent of more than 1,000 active duty military personnel to support state vaccination sites. As Austin announced, DOD "must help the federal government move further and faster to eradicate the devastating effects of the coronavirus."

The fatality figures are daunting. The virus has claimed more American lives than those lost in all military campaigns from World War Two to the present.

"The greatest challenge to our country right now is the pandemic," Austin said.

Schwartz, Morcillo, and others on teams at approximately 17 community vaccination centers in 12 states are taking on that task to help eliminate the virus. Their efforts are adding up. According to statistics from U.S. Northern Command, as of April 16, 2021, over 3 million vaccinations have been administered by active duty DOD service members in communities across the country.

"Our team, along with other joint teams supporting urban underserved communities, is not only increasing the total number of people vaccinated, but is specifically increasing the percentage of people of color vaccinated," said Schwartz. "The soft power and healing hands we project in urban underserved communities throughout our COVID-19 vaccine mission has made a difference not only in the health of the people we serve, but also a lasting positive impact in hearts and minds."

With his Navy Medical Service Corps background and experience in pharmacy, Schwartz has provided crucial capability in vaccine handling.

"Once daily supply of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine vials is received, my expertise in pharmacy enables safe administration of vaccine," he said. "Throughout the day, we prepare dosages for administration and ensure other members on the team appropriately prepare dosages."

One of those team members is Morcillo.

"HM3 Morcillo has been instrumental in administering Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to community members. He has also served as a translator for those who speak Spanish," Schwartz said, adding that all service members have made a favorable impression in providing support in an area where the presence of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine uniforms isn't commonplace.

"Many of the community members I have interacted with have voiced their appreciation of the service we provide. I feel positive about the work we are doing, and having the community's support is very meaningful," said Schwartz.

You also may be interested in...

NMHM looks back at the 1918 ‘Spanish flu’ for one Maryland county

Article
8/19/2020
Black and white image of hospital beds lined up in rows, occupied by sick people

The 1918 flu resembled a more severe cold.

DOD Official Discusses Conditions-Based Reopenings, Future of Telework

Article
8/19/2020
Man in full PPE spraying down a chair with sanitizer

Esper was clear from the start about his priorities in a pandemic.

BAMC expands use of ECMO to treat severe COVID-19 patients

Article
8/18/2020
Medical personnel wearing masks, looking at paperwork on desk

This treatment...is used in the intensive care unit when a patient experiences heart and/or lung failure.

DHA proves power of collaboration in medical IT war games

Article
8/18/2020
Men and women in room sitting in front of their laptops

Open-source EHR proves worth in Coalition Warrior Interoperability Exercise

Air Force medics ‘go mobile’ to continue serving during COVID-19

Article
8/17/2020
Medical personnel wearing a mask, looking at a vial

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the 90th Medical Respiratory Clinic was created and designed to focus on patient care and safety.

Military Health System experts discuss COVID-19 innovations

Article
7/30/2020
Four men wearing masks, holding COVID-19 Airway Management Isolation Chamber

How quick thinking and new approaches are saving lives in the pandemic fight.

Military Medicine Joining Forces to Fight COVID-19 All Around the World

Article
7/17/2020
A group of military personnel posing for a picture

Multiple commands from the Navy and Air Force responded to the request with personnel from all over the country.

Innovative RX pad creates path for prescribing mobile health technology

Article
7/15/2020
Innovative RX pad creates path for prescribing mobile health technology

Technology and healthcare are constantly evolving fields.

U.S. Naval Hospital Guam Collects Convalescent Plasma from Sailors

Article
7/2/2020
Technician takes notes next to convalescent plasma samples.

The CCP is the liquid part of blood from patients who have recovered from an infection.

How the military stays ready during disease outbreaks

Article
6/29/2020
Headshot of Dr. Sanchez

A Q&A with a health surveillance professional at Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch

Defending the Homeland: A Determined Descendant and a Navy Hospital's Response to COVID-19

Article
6/9/2020
Image of Navy captain, wearing a mask, standing next to a piece of paper on the wall

Althoff and her team at the Quality Management directorate serve as a locus of coordination for clinical support operations.

Defending the Homeland: Putting talent to work

Article
6/5/2020
Three military personnel wearing masks

One seamstress took it upon herself to create face coverings for her colleagues.

DOD Establishes Collaborative Virus Genetic Sequencing Capability for COVID-19

Article
6/5/2020
Image of two scientists in masks looking at a computer monitor

COVID-19 sequencing process will provide military commanders and other DOD leadership with critical information to guide force health protection decision-making.

COVID-19: Lifestyle Tips to Stay Healthy

Article
5/22/2020
Eating right, physical activity, adequate rest and taking care of our mental health not only improves overall health and wellness, but also makes us more resilient during COVID-19.

As we move toward a third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus has changed many of our daily routines in ways no one anticipated and that have become the new normal.

CDC maintains childhood immunization guidelines during COVID-19

Article
5/1/2020
A child receives a vaccine during a visit to the clinic.

What you need to know about getting your child vaccinated

Page 14 of 14 , showing items 196 - 210
First < ... 11 12 13 14 > Last 
Refine your search
Last Updated: May 04, 2023
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery