Two more people in the National Nuclear Security Administration’s workforce died from COVID-19 this week, as recoveries continued to outpace new infections and more nuclear weapons workers got vaccinated.
One of the two fatalities this week was at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. It was the fourth fatal case for the lab during the pandemic. The other fatal case was at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., which itself has now had four fatal cases. There have been 12 confirmed COVID-19 fatalities at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) so far.
Aside from that grim news, confirmed positive cases throughout the nuclear security enterprise were for a third consecutive week outnumbered by recoveries.
The NNSA confirmed 165 new infections among federal employees and contractors, even as 189 people recovered from their bouts with the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that broke out in Wuhan, China in 2019.
At deadline Friday for Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor, that made for a total of 4,759 confirmed positive cases tracked by NNSA headquarters in Washington since the pandemic reached the U.S. about a year ago.
This week, Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), management and operations contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex and the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, confirmed that some employees at that sites have started receiving vaccinations.
Vaccinations at Pantex, designated by Texas as a point of distribution, started Feb. 2, a Consolidated Nuclear Security spokesperson said. By Thursday, Pantex had administered 612 doses. Adding in off-site vaccinations, including for Y-12 employees, brought the total of vaccinated CNS employees to about 1,000, the spokesperson said.
Since last week, the Nevada National Security site has vaccinated about another 100 people, bringing the total number there to more than 900, a spokesperson for the site said Friday.
National Laboratories Cases
Following are the reported numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases at NNSA nuclear weapons laboratories, and increases relative to the prior week, as provided Friday by the labs.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory:
Cases: 255 (+6). Livermore is the only lab that does not test its own employees. A spokesperson said the laboratory has been designated as a point of distribution for vaccines but has still not received any doses.
Los Alamos National Laboratory:
Cases: 751 (+25. 609 people who got sick had recovered, as of deadline, while four died). Los Alamos has started vaccinations, but a spokesperson declined to say how many personnel there had received doses.
Internal tests: 13,499 (a lab spokesperson said Friday these on-site tests have resulted in 234 positive results).
Teleworking: Roughly 65% of all employees, down from around 70% last week. Los Alamos is slowly bringing more people back on site after greatly scaling back on-site operations in November, when a nationwide surge caused cases in New Mexico to soar.
Sandia National Laboratories:
Cases: 678 (Sandia started vaccinations the week of Jan. 11. A spokesperson said Friday that two people at the lab have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. “We have a number of people who have completed one dose and are planning to get their second dose at the appropriate time,” the spokesperson said.
Existing COVID-19 vaccines can provide immunization after two doses, each of which may be administered weeks apart.
Internal tests: 9,268.
Teleworking: Roughly 40% to 45% of all employees, down from between 55% and 60% a week ago.
