Pentagon would require COVID-19 vaccine for US troops under new plan

Members of the U.S. military would be required to have the COVID-19 vaccine under a plan announced by the Pentagon Monday and endorsed by President Joe Biden. "I will seek the president’s approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September, or immediately upon" licensure by the Food and Drug Administration "whichever comes first," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says in the memo to troops, warning them to prepare for the requirement.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - The U.S. government said Wednesday that it will deliver nearly 837,000 Pfizer vaccines to Caribbean nations as the region with limited resources struggles with a spike in COVID-19 cases amid violent anti-vaccine protests.

The Bahamas will receive 397,000 doses followed by Trinidad and Tobago with more than 305,000 doses. Barbados will receive 70,200 doses, while 35,100 are slated for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 17,550 for Antigua and 11,700 for St. Kitts and Nevis.

"The Biden-Harris administration’s highest priority in the Americas today is managing and ending the COVID pandemic and contributing to equitable recovery," said Juan González, the National Security Council’s senior director for the Western Hemisphere.

Thousands of specialized syringes required for the Pfizer vaccine also were donated, with officials noting that the donations involved "significant legal and logistic complexity."

In addition, USAID, which has provided more than $28 million to help 14 Caribbean nations fight COVID-19, expects to announce additional funding soon, according to a White House official.

The Caribbean region has reported more than 1.29 million cases and more than 16,000 deaths, with some 10.7 million people vaccinated so far, according to the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency.

Among the hardest hit Caribbean nations is Haiti, which on July 14 received its first vaccine shipment since the pandemic began — 500,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by the U.S. via the United Nations’ COVAX program for low-income countries.

The country of more than 11 million people has reported 20,400 confirmed cases and 575 deaths, although experts believe those numbers are severely underreported given a widespread lack of testing.

A National Security Council spokeswoman told The Associated Press that the U.S. "will send a signification amount of additional doses to Haiti soon," but further details were not immediately available.

On Wednesday, Haitian Health Minister Lauré Adrien said some 16,000 people in Haiti have been vaccinated and that all of the country's 10 departments have received a supply of vaccines.

The announcement by the U.S. government comes amid recent anti-vaccine protests in Guyana, Antigua and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, whose prime minister was hit in the head with a rock last week and was briefly hospitalized.

Among the islands most struggling with a spike in COVID-19 cases are the Bahamas, Curacao, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Trinidad and Tobago.