USFK service members may be first in Korea vaccinated for COVID-19

A person walks past the Pfizer headquarters in New York City, Dec. 9. / AFP-Yonap

By Do Je-hae

United States Forces Korea (USFK) personnel may become the first in Korea vaccinated for COVID-19.

Recent media reports have suggested that COVID-19 vaccinations will begin later this month at U.S. Army Garrison (USAG) Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, with the U.S. Department of Defense expected to notify military bases outside the U.S. of the timing of vaccinations.

The American troops will likely receive vaccinations months earlier than is possible for Korean citizens, as the Korean government hasn't decided when to start providing vaccinations for the public, with speculations it will be in the second quarter of next year or the first quarter at the earliest.

The Hill, a Washington, D.C.-based news website, reported that the department is targeting military bases within the U.S. as well as in Korea, Japan and Germany for the first batch of vaccines.

Thomas McCaffery, U.S. assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, has said the Pentagon's allotted vaccines would be sent to initial locations as soon as the FDA issues an emergency use authorization. U.S. Secretary of Defense Chris Miller and other senior officials will be vaccinated for COVID-19 by next week after the expected approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Pentagon officials said.

This is seen to raise prospects that the USFK could start vaccinations before Christmas.

Currently, the number of U.S. troops in South Korea is 28,500, 408 of whom have been confirmed to have COVID-19. Most recently, 17 USFK-affiliated individuals tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Korea between Nov. 20 and Dec. 4.

The UFSK came under fire recently for a number of no-mask parties held at one of its bases, triggering criticism from the public, as the participants ignored the Korean government's heightened anti-COVID-19 measures that were implemented in the wake of a surge of infections in recent weeks.

Photos and videos of a dance party held at a restaurant in Humphreys have been circulated on social media, causing public uproar.

“These recent activities on USAG Humphreys and Osan Air Base do not reflect USFK's commitment to mitigating the spread of COVID-19. USFK has closed both facilities involved in the recent incidents until further notice and will continue to implement mitigation measures to ensure our installations remain consistent with our core tenets and ROK government social distancing measures,” the USFK said in a statement.