A U.S. Navy ship is moored alongside in Guantanamo Bay after an outbreak of the coronavirus, despite its crew being “100% immunized,” the Navy announced on Christmas Eve.
The vessel, the littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee, is stuck in port after a “portion” of the crew tested positive for the virus.
The ship is home-ported in Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida, and was in port Naval Station Guantanamo Bay for a scheduled port visit. It left Florida on December 15 for a regularly scheduled deployment to the 4th Fleet area of operations, or U.S. Southern Command.
The Navy said in a statement:
The crew is 100% immunized and all COVID-19 positive Sailors are isolated onboard and away from crew members. A portion of those infected have exhibited mild symptoms. The vaccine continues to demonstrate effectiveness against serious illness.
The Navy said the variant of the coronavirus has yet to be determined and all CDC guidelines are being followed, including contact tracing and testing protocols.
The Pentagon has required every service member to be vaccinated, and is discharging those who are not. Potentially tens of thousands of service members could be discharged.
Pentagon officials have argued that every service member needs to be vaccinated in order to be ready to deploy.
A Navy spokesperson told the Washington Post that booster shots are “not yet mandatory but recommended.”
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