FORT BENNING, Ga.  –   Many of you are seeing in the news about other medical facilities administering COVID-19 vaccine. As of now, we have not yet received our first allocation of the vaccine.

Martin Army Community Hospital (MACH) remains committed to our routine priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect our people, maintain readiness, and support the national COVID-19 response.

As a part of the Department of Defense COVID-19 vaccine plan, MACH is implementing part of the standardized and coordinated strategy for prioritizing, distributing and administering COVID-19 vaccines through a phased approach. The overall goal is to vaccinate all Active component, Reserve component, TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Select beneficiaries, and select DoD civilians and contract personnel authorized to receive immunizations from DoD, in accordance with the phased approach.

Our first priority is to vaccinate healthcare workers, national mission force personnel and high-risk patients.

In the coming weeks, we will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines to administer to our beneficiaries; based on the priorities of the DoD COVID-19 vaccine plan. Part of this plan also includes administering the vaccine to our healthcare providers in a deliberate manner to ensure continuity of care to our beneficiaries.

The specifics of the vaccine administration to personnel at Fort Benning will depend on the number of doses available at a particular time along with the unique supply chain considerations required for COVID-19 vaccines, including ultra-cold bulk storage.

Since the vaccines are authorized for emergency use, they are offered on a voluntary basis.

MACH’s ultimate goal is to reduce the burden of COVID-19 disease in high-risk populations and simultaneously mitigate risk to military operations.

When we have received our vaccine allocation and are prepared to administer it to our beneficiaries, we will let you know through all our communication resources.