State National Guard chiefs call for more troops, more benefits for federal missions January 29 Spc. Elayna Luckey prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine Jan. 5, 2021, in Austin, Texas. Initial doses of the two-part COVID-19 vaccines currently being administered to National Guard soldiers preparing for deployment at Camp Mabry. (Andrew Smith/Texas Military Department) The heads of the Washington state, California and Michigan Guard spoke out about that strain during a media call on Friday, making a plea for not only more troops, but for the federal benefits promised to them when they signed up. “You know, it hasn’t just been a long year,” Army Maj. Gen. Bret Daugherty, Washington state’s adjutant general, told reporters. “It’s been a long 20 years. And I just want to focus on that. We’re all consumed with our domestic operations right now, but it is simultaneous with our overseas deployments, which have not let up one iota.”
The Guard isn’t going home. Leaders fear retention may suffer January 28 Hundreds of National Guard troops hold inside the Capitol Visitor s Center to reinforce security at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. The House of Representatives is pursuing an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump for his role in inciting an angry mob to storm the Capitol last week. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) On the morning of Jan. 20, two divisions’ worth of National Guard troops around 26,000, according to National Guard Bureau data shared with Military Times from 50 states and three territories stood watch in the nation’s capital for the inauguration of President Joseph Biden. Some even rode the Metro to their posts, helmets on and rifles slung.
Wednesday s Afternoon Update | 1/27/2021
‘It could be a double whammy.’ Florida scientists worry about Brazilian variant
As the pandemic continues to worsen around the world, scientists are grappling to better understand spin-off versions of the COVID-19 virus and one of the latest strains poses a particular threat to South Florida. The little-understood “P1” strain of the COVID-19 virus, known as the Brazilian variant, contains two of the mutations that have researchers worried: one that is thought to increase the infectiousness of the virus and one that is thought to aid the virus in escaping a potential target’s immune system, which would have implications for vaccines. More from the Miami Herald.
Florida National Guard members getting vaccinated against coronavirus
Jodi Mohrmann, Managing Editor of special projects
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Maj. Gen. James Eifert, adjutant general of Florida, received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine last week. (Adjutant general of Florida)
Members of the Florida National Guard who are fighting on the frontline against COVID-19 have started getting vaccinated against the virus.
National Guard members have been assisting with the state’s response to the pandemic, which includes administering tests at state-run testing sites throughout Florida.
Those members are being prioritized to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at Camp Blanding after the first shipment of more than a thousand doses of the Moderna vaccine arrived last week.