Medical Affairs is in the middle of our influenza immunization season. We are now receiving and validating immunization submissions required for mission readiness. We also understand that this is a major component of promotion eligibility for many deserving officers. I assure you, if have done everything on your end to meet the requirements, Medical Affairs will make sure you receive credit for your efforts.

Due to the sheer amount of submissions received this time of year, there is currently a 4-6 week average turnaround time. Additionally, since our FAX system does not maintain documents in the order in which they are received, some will be validated quicker than others. This can cause confusion, and we are looking into technical solutions moving forward to improve the process.

The leadership of the Corps understands that it is not feasible to have all items submitted by 31 DEC 12 validated and reported out by 1 JAN 13. Therefore, the promotion boards will generate a readiness report that will be used to measure individual readiness and promotion eligibility around mid to late February. This is Medical Affairs' deadline to validate all immunizations received by 31 DEC 12 and we are currently on target to meet that deadline.

We certainly understand why many officers contact us for a status update and/or send in their paperwork multiple times. However, these actions tend to slow down the validation process.

Please submit your immunization information one time, and keep a copy of their fax receipt or email message. This way, if by chance a human or system error occurs on either side of the process, we will be able to refer to that transmission record and give credit based on the submission date your receipt notates. I want all of you to know that we understand the importance of this responsibility and understand the impact it has on multiple professional levels. We are working hard to validate this information in a timely and accurate manner.

Although we are always here to serve you and encourage you to contact us if we can assist, we are asking officers to refrain from contacting us about the status of their immunizations until the second week of February. I believe most, if not all, officers’ readiness status will be updated by that point. If there are any outliers, we will have time to address them prior to the promotion boards’ final review of promotion eligibility. I hope this message provides some clarity. On behalf of Medical Affairs, I would like to thank you for your dedicated service to our great nation. It is our pleasure and privilege to support you.