Santa Monica Observer - Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

A navy crew that is 100% vaccinated against Covid-19, has been sidelined due to an outbreak of Covid-19. The USS Milwaukee, with 125 men on board, is now confined due to the coronavirus outbreak to the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Cuba, reports the Washington Post.

A coronavirus outbreak aboard the USS Milwaukee, whose entire crew was "100 percent immunized," has forced the ship to remain in port after a scheduled stop in Cuba barely one week into its deployment, the Navy announced Friday.

An unspecified "portion" of the Milwaukee's 105-person crew is isolated aboard the ship at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, according to Cmdr. Kate Meadows, a spokeswoman for U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command. The Navy does not disclose infection counts "at the crew/unit level," she said in an email.

Some of the personnel who tested positive for the virus have displayed mild symptoms, Meadows said. Officials have not determined whether the highly transmissible omicron variant - which has demonstrated an ability to evade coronavirus vaccines, leading to a surge in breakthrough infections - is responsible for the Milwaukee's outbreak. Meadows would not disclose whether any of those infected had received booster shots or if Navy leaders may seek to require them in a bid to prevent future outbreaks during the deployment."Boosters," she said, "are not yet mandatory but recommended."

Needless to say, the story resonates among the vaccine reluctant. From an "anti-Vaxx" website: The case of the USS Milwaukee: They are experiencing an outbreak of Covid-19 despite every single person on the ship being "fully vaccinated." This should be impossible if proponents of vaccine mandates were even partially correct. The "rare" breakthrough cases should not be able to manifest a full-blown outbreak on a ship without a single unvaccinated person onboard, yet here we are. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/12/24/uss-milwaukee-covid-outbreak/

Wikipedia

The USS Milwaukee during sea trials

The Milwaukee is 378 feet in length, about the size of a frigate. She has a crew of 50, with 75 people potentially as passengers. She deployed from her home port in Mayport, Fla., on Dec. 14. In a news release announcing the ship’s departure, the Navy said that apart from the ship’s crew, a detachment of Coast Guard law enforcement personnel was on board, plus an aviation unit responsible for operating embarked helicopters and drones. It was not immediately clear whether the coronavirus outbreak affected any of those passengers.