FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – More than 300 Pennsylvania National Guard members are currently supporting COVID-19 vaccination centers across the commonwealth.
Five teams, totaling about 313 Soldiers and Airmen, are at working at community vaccinations centers in Philadelphia, Lancaster, State College and Monroeville.
“Our Guard members are committed to serving their fellow Pennsylvanians by assisting with COVID-19 vaccinations,” said Col. Frank Montgomery, director of military support for the Pa. National Guard. “We are happy to be assisting our neighbors at several sites throughout the commonwealth.”
About 190 Pa. National Guard members are supporting two vaccinations centers in Philadelphia. About 150 of them are at a vaccination center at a school in North Philadelphia, and more than 40 are at a vaccination center at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City.
About 47 PNG members are supporting the Allegheny County Community Vaccination Center in Monroeville, about 27 service members are supporting a vaccination center at the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State’s University Park Campus, and more than 40 PNG members are supporting the Lancaster County Community Vaccination Center at the Park City Center mall in Lancaster.
“We are so grateful to the Pennsylvania National Guard for offering their support and assistance as we continue our efforts to vaccinate our community members as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible,” said Dr. Michael Ripchinski, site director for the Lancaster County Community Vaccination Center and chief clinical officer with Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, lead healthcare partner for the Vaccinate Lancaster Coalition. “This partnership provides our vaccination center with a stable and reliable staffing resource and will ensure that we can continue to expand our capacity and increase the number of vaccinations we provide daily.”
The Pa. National Guard teams supporting the vaccination centers include medical specialists who are trained to perform tasks like administering injections, and general-purpose personnel who can perform non-medical tasks, such as setting up and administrative functions.
Previously, more than 100 Pa. National Guard members supported vaccination centers for teachers and school staffs at 14 locations across the commonwealth. During that mission, which began March 11 and ended on March 30, Guard members administered 14,634 vaccinations.
To date, Pa. National Guard members have supported vaccinations centers that have administered over 350,000 vaccinations, and Guard members have personally administered over 29,000 vaccinations.
Date Taken: | 04.15.2021 |
Date Posted: | 04.15.2021 14:51 |
Story ID: | 393955 |
Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
Web Views: | 121 |
Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 300+ Pa. National Guard members supporting vaccination centers, by Brad Rhen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.