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Medical Leaders Address COVID-19 Concerns During Family Forum

Image of Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Jemuel Macabali, from San Diego, Calif., gives the COVID-19 vaccine to staff at Camp Lemonnier, in Djibouti, Aug. 13, 2021. . Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Jemuel Macabali, from San Diego, Calif., gives the COVID-19 vaccine to staff at Camp Lemonnier, in Djibouti, Aug. 13, 2021.

The sheer volume of COVID-19 infections makes the virus and its variants a real challenge, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a Blue Star Families forum in a virus update yesterday.

Speaking virtually along with Army Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Ronald J. Place, director of the Defense Health Agency, and Air Force Maj. Gen. Paul A. Friedrichs, command surgeon of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Fauci was the first to address military and veteran communities about the omicron variant of COVID-19.

"We're dealing, as we all know, with an unprecedented outbreak with COVID-19 that continually challenges us with new variants," Fauci said. "We've gone from the original strain through alpha, beta and delta. And now we're dealing with omicron, which is very unusual, because of this extraordinary capability of spreading so efficiently from human to human."

The United States still has a record number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and the nation has about 2,000 deaths per day from the virus, he added.

But Fauci noted that by mid-February, various states should start to show signs of turning around and begin to come down in their virus case numbers and hospitalizations.

"There are some fundamental tenets of public health with [regard to] COVID that many families are already practicing, and that is to get vaccinated," he said, adding that boosters should be obtained, too.

Fauci also said it's important to wear well-fitted, high-quality masks consistently indoors when around other people. "The other thing that you could do is when you are engaged in social interactions, … you might want to take the extra step of getting a rapid [COVID-19] test, "he said, adding that masks clearly now have shown to be very effective in not only protecting people from getting infected, but protecting people from transmitting the virus to others.

The renowned physician called COVID-19 statistics stunning.

"The latest statistics are that an unvaccinated person has a 10-times greater chance of getting infected, a 17-times greater chance of getting hospitalized, and a 20-times chance of dying compared to a vaccinated person," Fauci said. "Those statistics alone should get you to be really enthusiastic about protecting yourself and your family."

He noted that when people who are infected with COVID-19 get vaccinated afterward, they have an extremely high level of protection. And, he added, "If someone gets vaccinated and boosted, and they get some breakthrough infection, the level of that subsequent protection is very, very high."

"The great news in all of the challenges of this pandemic is that our military has continued to defend our nation for the last two years, in spite of all of the challenges that we face," Friedrichs told Blue Star Families. "And in large part, that's due to you all at home, making it possible for those of us who are still in uniform to do what we have to do."

The Joint Staff surgeon said the Defense Department is stepping up again by deploying about 400 people last week to help hospitals around the country, another 500 are deploying this week, and 500 more military medics are also going out shortly behind that wave to help hospitals all over the country.

"We know that during this great need and challenge our country is facing, it's the DOD who the country turns to for support," he said.

"The most important thing that we ask you all to continue to do is keep faith with your service members if you're a military family. This [pandemic] happens once every 100 years. Hopefully, we'll never see it again. But please know, we all want this to be over as soon as possible. And you're helping us when you get vaccinated. You're helping us when you make sure that kids are able to go to school; you're helping us as we fight through this latest enemy that we face," Friedrichs said.

"We ask a great deal of our military families. We're asking even more now, and we know that," he told families.

Even though the DOD community has been affected with COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations as much as the civilian sector, consistent with national trends, a much smaller percentage of inpatients are requiring intensive care unit care, and that's good news, Place said.

"The point is, the vaccines work," the general added. "If you listen to nothing else, not only for yourself, but for your families and your community, I strongly urge everyone to get vaccinated and get a booster when appropriate."

One of the first things that Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III communicated during his first day in the Pentagon was that the COVID-19 pandemic was a national security threat, and the DOD would be part of the whole-of-government response, Place noted. "And I'll acknowledge that our military medical personnel have answered, and continue to, answer that call," he said.

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Consolidated Department of Defense Coronavirus Disease 2019 Force Health Protection Guidance

Policy

Consolidates and updates the Department’s guidance regarding vaccination verification, vaccination status, COVID-19 testing, surveillance and screening testing, personnel protection on-site mask requirements, (e.g., DHA military medical treatment facilities, meetings, travel), and the protection of personally identifiable information.

  • Identification #: 22-006
  • Date: 8/18/2022
  • Type: Memorandums
  • Topics: COVID-19

DHA-IPM 20-004: Department of Defense (DOD) Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccination Program Implementation

Policy

Establishes the Defense Health Agency’s procedures to implement instructions, assign responsibilities, and prescribe procedures for the DHA’s implementation of the DOD’s COVID-19 Vaccination Program.

  • Identification #: DHA-IPM 20-004
  • Date: 6/16/2022
  • Type: DHA Interim Procedures Memorandum
  • Topics: COVID-19

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination Attestation, Screening Testing, and Vaccination Verification

Policy

This memorandum provides guidance on the implementation of vaccination, attestation, and testing requirements in accordance with the References listed in Attachment 1 to reduce the transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19.

  • Identification #: 21-004
  • Date: 11/3/2021
  • Type: Memorandums
  • Topics: COVID-19

Medical Logistics Guidance for the DoD Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccination Program

Policy

Establishes the DHA's procedures for ordering, receiving, and managing COVID-19 Vaccines inventory and ancillary kits for enduring COVID-19 support.

  • Identification #: 6025.01
  • Date: 5/10/2021
  • Type: DHA Procedural Instruction
  • Topics: COVID-19

TAB A MEO COVID19 Medical Coding Policy

Policy

Memorandum for DHA Staff - Military Medical Treatment Facilities to Implement Updated DHA COVID-19 Medical Coding Policy

  • Identification #: N/A
  • Date: 3/25/2021
  • Type: Memorandums
  • Topics: COVID-19

DHA COVID19 Medical Coding PolicyV5 1v

Policy

Establishes the DHA procedures to standardize the coding for Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) within military medical treatment facilities (MTFs). This memorandum replaces DHA-Policy Memorandum 20-003 of July 1, 2020. Attachment 1 was updated to include the 2021 procedure and diagnosis codes for COVID-19, including the new vaccination and treatment codes.

  • Identification #: 20-003
  • Date: 3/25/2021
  • Type: Memorandums
  • Topics: COVID-19

Supplemental Guidance for Providing DOD Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccines to DOD Contractor Employees and Select Foreign Nationals

Policy

This memorandum provides supplemental guidance on the provision of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, in accordance with reference (a). The Defense Health Agency (DHA) is the lead coordinating DOD Component for executing this guidance, in coordination with the Military Departments and other DOD Components as appropriate.

  • Identification #: N/A
  • Date: 12/31/2020
  • Type: Memorandums
  • Topics: COVID-19

HA Guidance for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Laboratory Pre-Testing Questionnaire

Policy

This memorandum provides guidance for a COVID-19 laboratory pre-testing questionnaire that will be mandatory for all Active Duty Service members and encouraged for all other DOD beneficiaries treated at military medical treatment facilities.

  • Identification #: N/A
  • Date: 12/17/2020
  • Type: Memorandums
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Executive Order on Ensuring Access to United States Government COVID-19 Vaccines

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This EO outlines who should receive priority access to COVID-19 vaccines developed in the United States or procured by the United States Government (“United States Government COVID-19 Vaccines”).

  • Identification #: N/A
  • Date: 12/8/2020
  • Type: Directives
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine Guidance

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This memorandum provides guidance on the provision of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. The Defense Health Agency (DHA) is the lead coordinating DOD Component for executing this guidance, in coordination with the Military Departments and other DOD Components.

  • Identification #: N/A
  • Date: 12/7/2020
  • Type: Memorandums
  • Topics: COVID-19

Return to the Workplace Staffing Plan in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Environment

Policy

Establishes the DHA's plan to return to full operations and support the whole-of-government response, during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic

  • Identification #: 3020.01
  • Date: 11/3/2020
  • Type: Administrative Instructions
  • Topics: COVID-19

Military Medical Treatment Facilities to Implement Updated DHA COVID-19 Medical Coding Policy

Policy

The Defense Health Agency (DHA) Memorandum, based on the authority of References (a) and (b), and in accordance with the guidance of References (c) and (d), establishes the DHA’s procedures to standardize the coding for Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Military Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs). This memorandum cancels and replaces DHA- Policy Memorandum 20-003 of (13 April 2020). A change was issued since the cancelled Memorandum 20-003 of (13 April 2020), the Attachment titles were updated to reflect that Attachments 1, 2, and 4 are considered Policies as opposed to Guidance.

  • Identification #: 20-003
  • Date: 5/13/2020
  • Type: Memorandums
  • Topics: COVID-19
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Last Updated: January 31, 2023
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