Public Affairs

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Feb. 4, 2021) — General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital is hosting a COVID-19 mass vaccination event from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 5 and 6 at Nutter Field House as part of the installation’s second phase of the vaccination rollout plan.

The goal of the event is to provide a wide distribution of the first dose of Pfizer vaccines to Fort Leonard Wood service members, Department of Defense civilians, contractors and TRICARE beneficiaries.

Appointments are required and can be made by visiting https://informatics-stage.health.mil/glwachcovidapp.

A COVID vaccine form — found at https://leonard-wood.tricare.mil/health-services/preventive-care/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine-program — must also be completed and brought to the appointment.

Anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 within 90 days, or who has had another vaccine within the past two weeks is considered ineligible to receive the vaccine at the event. Additionally, the vaccine is only approved for individuals ages 16 and older.

Check the GLWACH Facebook page at www.facebook.com/glwach for updates.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website contains a list of frequently asked questions about the vaccine at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html.

Safety is among the most common question topics about the available vaccines.

The CDC said all the COVID-19 vaccines being used have gone through rigorous studies to ensure they are as safe as possible. Systems that allow the CDC to watch for safety issues are in place across the entire country.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Emergency Use Authorizations for COVID-19 vaccines that have been shown to meet rigorous safety criteria and be effective as determined by data from the manufacturers and findings from large clinical trials.

The CDC has also said people who are pregnant and part of a group recommended to receive the COVID-19 vaccine may choose to be vaccinated. In addition, breastfeeding is rarely a safety concern with vaccines.

Experts also stressed it’s not possible to get COVID-19 from the vaccines, which use inactivated virus, parts of the virus, or a gene from the virus. None of these can cause COVID-19.

All vaccine recipients will be provided a copy of the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card after receipt of the vaccine. It is recommended that the second-dose appointment be made at the time of initial vaccinations, if possible.

In addition to CDC guidance, the DoD has also provided information on the vaccine via their website at https://www.health.mil/military-health-topics/combat-support/public-health/coronavirus/COVID-19-vaccine-efforts/getting-the-COVID-19-vaccine.

Staff Sgt. Fevee Fontejon, noncommissioned officer in charge of the General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital’s Maternal Child Unit, receives her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccination Monday. While Fontejon and other health care workers, first responders and high-risk patients in Phase 1 are completing their two-step vaccinations, GLWACH will move into Phase 2 Friday, which provides first doses of the Pfizer vaccine to the installation’s service members, Department of Defense civilians, contractors and enrolled beneficiaries. (Photo by Chad Ashe)

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About Fort Leonard Wood

Fort Leonard Wood is a thriving and prosperous installation that has evolved from a small basic training post more than 75 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains more than 80,000 military and civilians each year.

Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and three U.S. Army schools: the U.S. Army Engineer School; U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School; and the U.S. Army Military Police School. In addition to training engineer, CBRN and military police specialties for the Army, Fort Leonard Wood also provides gender-integrated in-processing and Basic Combat Training for new Soldiers.

Fort Leonard Wood also hosts and trains with the largest Marine Corps Detachment and Air Force Squadron on any Army installation as well as a large Navy construction detachment.

More information about Fort Leonard Wood is at: https://home.army.mil/wood/index.php/about/mission