US Navy Sailors Coming To Tulsa To Help With Federal COVID Vaccination Site Next Week

The Department of Defense provided new details Thursday about the federally run mass vaccination clinic opening in Tulsa next week. 

FEMA is already on the ground, working to get things ready for next week. In a few days, DoD spokesperson Staff Sgt. Jeremy Bennett said U.S. Navy sailors from San Diego will be arriving in Tulsa to help, too. 

Chairs are set up inside the Student Union at Tulsa Community College’s northeast campus, as local, state and national agencies work together to get the mass vaccination site ready. 

FEMA said the goal is to vaccinate about 3,000 people a day. 

Details like what days and times the appointments will be available have not been finalized just yet, a spokesperson for FEMA said.  

The Department of Defense said the U.S. Navy will be involved, with about 90 clinical personnel putting shots in arms, and another 50 sailors helping with logistics. 

Staff Sgt. Bennett said the sailors who are administering shots are coming from San Diego, Calif. He said the other 50 sailors will be coming from other parts of the country.  

The Oklahoma National Guard said about 30 Guardsmen will be helping with transporting the vaccine and prepping it.  

Maj. Kristin Tschetter said the Oklahoma guardsmen will also help run three satellite locations in an effort to reach even more people. 

FEMA spokesperson Lauren Lefebvre said every agency is working together with the same goal in mind. 

"It's really just everybody coming together to support the mission to get everybody vaccinated who wants a vaccine and no one single partner could do it without the other,” Lefebvre said.  

The site officially opens Wednesday, April 21. The Tulsa Health Department said appointments will be required for the first week, and walk-ins will be welcomed after that.  

The clinic will run for eight weeks with a goal to vaccinate 21,000 people a week.