31 Aug 2021

National Preparedness Month: ‘Prepare to Protect’

Each September, National Preparedness Month is observed to emphasize the importance of planning and preparing for emergencies that can impact our homes, families, and communities.

29 Jul 2021

DoD directs employees to start wearing face masks again

Following guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Defense Department has directed employees working in areas at high risk for transmission to begin using face masks again as a measure to prevent the continued spread of the COVID-19 virus, especially the fast-moving, highly-transmittable Delta variant.

12 Jul 2021

Summer plans? Have fun, stay safe with tips from TRICARE

Are you vaccinated and excited for summer sun, fun and travel? You aren’t alone. While you get back out there to enjoy all the joys of summer, TRICARE encourages you to do your part to prevent health emergencies.

30 Jun 2021

New COVID-19 Delta Variant: What you need to know to stay safe

A new and increasingly dangerous variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is rapidly sweeping across the globe. The good news, however, is that the existing vaccines now available to everyone over the age of 12 have proven to be highly effective in preventing the Delta variant as well as other versions of COVID-19.

29 Jun 2021

PTSD: Seeking out mental health care is the first step to wellness

Service members, family members and veterans who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder may repeatedly re-experience their ordeal as nightmares, flashbacks or frightening thoughts, especially when exposed to events that remind them of their original trauma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They also may experience overanxious watchfulness or a tendency to withdraw or avoid situations and people that remind them of their traumatic experience, CDC said.

12 Apr 2021

DOD Prioritizing COVID-19 Vaccinations to Those Deployed

The Defense Department is rapidly administering COVID-19 vaccines in a tiered priority process to service members, DOD contractors and civilians and their families who are stationed overseas and who wish to have them, said DOD health leaders. Deployed personnel are being prioritized because of limited availability to receive vaccinations from local health care providers. Of all doses the department has received, 14% are set aside for overseas locations.

19 Feb 2021

COVID-19 vaccine does not affect fertility, immunization experts say

You're pregnant, or you’re breastfeeding. Should you get a COVID-19 vaccine? That’s a question on the minds of many military frontline health care workers today. The short answer is that it’s an individual’s choice, and military health experts say the vaccine is well worth considering.

6 Feb 2021

DOD announces use of masks and other public health measures

Today, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III signed a memo that, effective immediately, directs all individuals on military installations and all individuals performing official duties on behalf of the Department from any location other than the individual’s home, including outdoor shared spaces, to wear masks in accordance with the most current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.

10 Dec 2020

DOD announces COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan

Today, the Department of Defense announced its deliberate and phased plan to distribute and administer initial and subsequent allocations of the COVID-19 vaccine.

12 Nov 2020

Preventing Seasonal Flu

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs. Most infectious disease experts believe that flu viruses spread mainly by droplets made when people with the flu cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. A person might also get the flu by touching a surface or object that has the flu virus on it and then touch their own mouth, nose, or eyes.