A COVID 19 outbreak has been reported among crew members who have been 100% immunized due to a USS Milwaukee LCS 5 Navy warship being held at the Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay.
The U.S. Navy said that the crew is 100% immunized and all COVID 19 positive sailors are isolated from other crew members. Some of the infected sailors have mild symptoms, according to the statement. The COVID 19 hit Navy vessel is a Freedom variant littoral combat ship. The U.S. Navy said that coronaviruses continue to show effectiveness against the disease and the vessel is following an aggressive mitigation strategy in accordance with the Navy and CDC guidelines. The crew members were not allowed to exit the ship in order to prevent Guantanamo Bay residents from contracting the disease.
The USS Milwaukee was held at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay naval station after it docked for refueling. The ship set sail on December 14 from Mayport, Florida, for its scheduled deployment to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations. It's not known which variant infected the crew members. Axios reported that the crew members had received their booster shots, but it is not known if they have received their booster shots.
In an email to The Washington Post, spokesperson for the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command Cmdr. Kate Meadows said booster jabs are not yet mandatory but recommended in the U.S. Navy. Meadows said that the Navy does not disclose the number of infected sailors at the crew unit level. More than 100 sailors and a helicopter combat crew were on board the Milwaukee when it left Florida, The New York Times reported. The U.S. Navy has yet to discuss how long the warship will be held at port.
The Times reported that none of the infected crew members from the Milwaukee had to be hospitalized after the outbreak, but the Guantanamo Bay base hospital said Sunday. Our medical and public health teams are in close contact with medical on board ship, according to hospital spokeswoman Dawn Grimes. This is not the first time that members of the U.S. military and navy have experienced an outbreak. In early 2020, the first major outbreak was reported among crew members of the USS Theodore Roosevelt that resulted in one sailor death, Fox News reported.
More than 1,000 of the 4,800-member crew contracted COVID 19. 98% of the servicemen have been vaccinated, according to recent data from the U.S. Navy.