WASHINGTON: The U.S. Naval Academy is developing plans to begin vaccinating midshipmen this month so students can deploy to ships and with Navy teams as part of their training this summer, Vice Adm. Sean Buck told Congress Tuesday.
If the vaccines are available, the midshipmen would be the first military academy students to receive the COVID-19 shots. The plans come as the Naval Academy wrestles with a new uptick in positive coronavirus cases, and has locked down the campus in Annapolis, Maryland, for 10 days. Students have been restricted to their rooms for classes and meals, and can go outside for a maximum of two hours a day, with only one roommate.
The lockdown was announced on Sunday, and includes the suspension of sports events and practices, other than the men’s varsity basketball team, which will participate in postseason play because the athletes have been isolated since last week.
Speaking to the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee, Buck said that he’s given Navy…