NAF Atsugi Mass Vaccination Program

Hospitalman Jules Tsai, assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Unit (NMRTU) Atsugi, Japan, administers the Moderna COVID-19 vaccination to a local area employee aboard Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi.

NAF Atsugi Mass Vaccination Program For Local Area Employees Is Underway

NAF Atsugi Public Affairs Office By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ange Olivier Clement

NAVAL AIR FACILITY ATSUGI, Japan - Medical staff members began administering vaccinations to a selected group of local base employees most of whom are Japanese for COVID-19 at Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Unit (NMRTU) Atsugi, Japan, June 18, 2021.

A selected group of employees who received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine consisted of 22 individuals, each of whom serve in various forms of leadership support roles onboard the installation.

After an agreement between U.S. Forces Japan and the Japanese government to inoculate the employees, the base proceeded to open up vaccines for the rest of the local workforce. To date, NAF Atsugi has conducted three separate mass inoculation events.

According to Lt. Jessica Lopez of NMRTU Atsugi, this program will have a major positive impact on the mission readiness of the installation.

“Having the local base employees vaccinated decreases the stress that can occur when our Japanese partners who are subject matter experts are down and in the grand scheme of things will also help keep our community as a whole healthy,” said Lopez.

Among first-world countries, Japan has lagged behind with regards to distribution of vaccines to its population. However, a recent approved push by the Japanese government to vaccinate its people has been implemented, predominantly in the form of state-run mass COVID-19 inoculation centers throughout the country.

With the Tokyo Olympics scheduled to kick off July 23, Japan plans to extend its current state of emergency in designated areas to last until the end of the games. Since April 25, various parts of the country have been under the virus emergency, a measure that has forced the early closing of bars and restaurants, while also banning the sale of alcohol. Up until now, the focus outside the base fence lines was to inoculate the elderly first but has recently expanded to people aged 18 or older at largescale centers in densely-populated areas such as Tokyo and Osaka.

Japanese workers aboard the installation view vaccination availability on NAF Atsugi as an added bonus, an additional way to enable them to access health care to combat COVID-19’s spread at a more rapid rate.

“I am really happy, and I would like to say thank you to NAF Atsugi’s leadership for providing us this opportunity,” said Master Labor Contractor (MLC) Fujino Reselosa.

For the medical personnel at BHC Atsugi, the view of shot distribution is seen as an opportunity for them to give back to the host nation community.

“It feels good to be able to help our host nation of Japan, but also all the people who help us at the clinic and on the base in general,” said Hospital Corpsman 2nd class Mark Perez.