The Department of Veterans Affairs announced a national distribution plan for its allotment of the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday. The Greater Los Angeles and Palo Alto VA Health Care Systems will be among the first 37 VA centers to receive the vaccine created by Pfizer-BioNTech.
The two VA facilities in California were, according to the VA, “chosen for their ability to vaccinate large numbers of people and store the vaccines at extremely cold temperatures.”
The VA says that front-line health care workers will be the first group to receive the vaccine due to their propensity to come into contact with many patients. Shortly thereafter, long-term patients will be the first patient group to be vaccinated. Subsequent groups based on “age, existing health problems, and other considerations that increase the risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19” will be vaccinated as supplies are replenished.
VA hospitals that are distributing the vaccine will monitor all workers and patients that are vaccinated for side effects. Results and collected data will be shared with the CDC and public updates will be given regularly.
Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine was granted emergency use authorization by the FDA on Dec. 11. Massive efforts to distribute the vaccine to both veteran and non-veteran communities throughout the country are currently underway. It remains unclear how quickly the vaccine will be made available to California veterans not part of the VA health care system.
COVID-19 in California, CalVet
CalVet has reported that COVID-19 containment efforts in its facilities have largely been successful since the outbreak began nine months ago. California, however, has seen more than 1.5M cases and nearly 21,000 deaths over that span.
Shut-downs relating to the pandemic have had a harsh effect on businesses and other entities across the state, including Legion posts struggling with dwindling revenue streams. With vaccine efforts beginning, there is hope that businesses will be able to reopen in the coming months.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.