US Defense Department Confirms 15th Coronavirus Fatality

The US Department of Defense (DOD) reported on January 15, 2021, there have been 126,437 coronavirus cases amongst Active Duty personnel since the pandemic began, but only 15 fatalities related to COVID-19.

There is about 1.3 million active-duty personnel, with the Army being the largest U.S. military service, followed by the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and the Space Force.

As part of Operation Warp Speed's mission to develop and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, the DOD confirmed the Defense Logistics Agency Distribution began shipping the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to Defense Department employees outside the continental U.S., the deployed U.S. Navy Fleet and a limited number of locations within the continental U.S.

On December 18, 2020, the U.S. FDA issued an emergency use authorization that enables the experimental Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to be distributed in the USA. This has not been approved or licensed by the FDA but was authorized for emergency use.