Surveillance Snapshot: History of COVID-19 Vaccination Among Air Force Recruits Arriving at Basic Training, March 2–June 15, 2021

Image of COVID-19 vaccine bottle and syringes. The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived at Whiteman Air Force Base, Dec. 30, 2020. The Whiteman AFB COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration plan will implement a phased, standardized and coordinated strategy for prioritizing, distributing, and administering COVID-19 vaccines to installation personnel. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander W. Riedel)

Early in 2021, Air Force basic military trainees began arriving at Lackland Air Force Base either partially or fully vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). During the defined 15-week time frame (March 2–June 15), 600–900 trainees entered basic military training (BMT) on a weekly basis. The rate of trainees who arrived partially or fully vaccinated against COVID-19 per 1,000 trainees increased on a weekly basis in 12 out of the 15 weeks. The lowest rate was 16 previously vaccinated trainees per 1,000 trainees arriving in the week of March 23, 2021 and the peak rate was 313 per 1,000 trainees in the week of June 15, 2021. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were the predominant vaccines throughout the period. The majority of trainees who received vaccine against COVID-19 prior to arrival at BMT were fully vaccinated (range: 58%–98% per week).

Author affiliation: Office of the Command Surgeon, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command/SGPJ, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, TX (Maj Frankel).

Disclaimer: Material has been reviewed by the 59th Medical Wing Institutional Review Board, and there is no objection to its publication. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

FIGURE. U.S. Air Force recruits arriving at basic military training (BMT) partially or fully vaccinated against COVID-19, by week, dose, and vaccine type, 2 March–15 June 2021

You also may be interested in...

Article
Jun 1, 2025

Letter to the Editor

This letter to the editor addresses the methodology from the article Correlation Between Mean Temperature and Incidence of Tick-borne Diseases Among Active Duty Service Members in the Contiguous U.S., 2000-2023, published in the March 2025 issue of MSMR.

Article
May 1, 2025

Update: Infertility Among Active Component Service Women, U.S. Armed Forces, 2019–2023

This update of infertility surveillance, analysis and reporting provides more recent estimates of infertility diagnosis incidence and prevalence of among active component U.S. service women. MSMR has published the incidence and prevalence of diagnosed female infertility among active component women since 2000, with assessments of annual rates of ...

Article
May 1, 2025

Trends of Sepsis Hospitalizations Among Female Active Component U.S. Service Members, 2011–2022

This report on sepsis hospitalizations among service women is in response to studies of sepsis among active component U.S. military members that have shown markedly increased rates of sepsis hospitalizations, especially among women, among whom rates are higher than male service members as well as the general U.S. population.

Skip subpage navigation
Refine your search