WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will begin COVID-19 vaccinations this week at 128 additional sites using the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines.
On December 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which is the second COVID-19 vaccine to be authorized.
“Having a second COVID-19 vaccine will enable us to reach more facilities and vaccinate more health care personnel and Veterans in additional parts of the country,” said VA Secretary Robert L. Wilkie. “We continue to implement our COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan and are grateful to be one step closer to seeing the end of this pandemic.”
Per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations, VA will continue to vaccinate health care personnel, as well as community living center and spinal cord unit residents. As vaccine supplies increase, VA’s ultimate goal is to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to all Veterans and employees who want to be vaccinated.
113 VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) and outpatient clinics will receive limited Moderna COVID-19 vaccine supplies this week. They include:
Alabama
Central Alabama (Montgomery) VA Health Care System
Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center
Alaska
Alaska (Anchorage) VA Health Care System
Arizona
Northern Arizona (Prescott) VA Health Care System
Southern Arizona (Tucson) VA Health Care System
Arkansas
Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks (Fayetteville)
Central Arkansas (North Little Rock) Veterans Health Care System
California
Central California (Fresno) VA Health Care System
Northern California (Mather) VA Health Care System
San Francisco VA Medical Center
Long Beach VA Health Care System
Loma Linda VA Health Care System
San Diego VA Health Care System
Colorado
Grand Junction VA Medical Center
Delaware
Wilmington VA Medical Center
Florida
Lee County VA Health Care Center
Jacksonville VA Outpatient Clinic
Sergeant Ernest I. “Boots” Thomas (Tallahassee) VA Outpatient Clinic
The Villages VA Outpatient Clinic
New Port Richey VA Outpatient Clinic
William V. Chappell, Jr. (Daytona Beach) VA Outpatient Clinic
William “Bill” Kling (Sunrise) VA Outpatient Clinic
South Hillsborough (Riverview) VA Outpatient Clinic
Viera VA Outpatient Clinic
Georgia
Atlanta VA Medical Center
Carl Vinson (Dublin) VA Medical Center
Hawaii
Pacific Islands (Honolulu) VA Health Care System
Idaho
Boise VA Medical Center
Illinois
Capt. James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (North Chicago)
Jesse Brown (Chicago) VA Medical Center
Iliana (Danville) VA Health Care System
Marion VA Medical Center
Indiana
Indianapolis VA Medical Center
Marion VA Medical Center
Iowa
Central Iowa (Des Moines) VA Health Care System
Iowa City VA Health Care System
Kansas
Dwight D. Eisenhower (Leavenworth) VA Medical Center
Colmery-O’Neil (Topeka) VA Medical Center
Robert J. Dole (Wichita) VA Medical Center
Kentucky
Louisville VA Medical Center
Louisiana
Alexandria (Pineville) VA Medical Center
Overton Brooks (Shreveport) VA Medical Center
Maine
Maine (Augusta) VA Health Care System
Massachusetts
Boston (Jamaica Plain) VA Health Care System
Northampton (Leeds) VA Medical Center
Michigan
Battle Creek VA Medical Center
Detroit VA Medical Center
Saginaw VA Medical Center
Iron Mountain VA Medical Center
Minnesota
St. Cloud VA Medical Center
Mississippi
G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery (Jackson) VA Medical Center
Gulf Coast (Biloxi) VA Health Care System
Missouri
Poplar Bluff VA Medical Center
Kansas City VA Medical Center
Montana
Montana (Fort Harrison) VA Health Care System
Nevada
Sierra Nevada (Reno) VA Health Care System
New Hampshire
Manchester VA Medical Center
New Jersey
Lyons VA Medical Center
New York
James J. Peters Bronx VA Medical Center
Canandaigua VA Medical Center
Syracuse VA Medical Center
Albany VA Medical Center
Castle Point (Wappingers Falls) VA Medical Center
Northport VA Medical Center
North Carolina
Asheville VA Medical Center
South Charlotte VA Health Care Center
Fayetteville VA Medical Center
Raeford Road (Fayetteville) VA Outpatient Clinic
Greenville VA Health Care Center
Kernersville VA Health Care Center
Wilmington VA Health Care Center
North Dakota
Fargo VA Medical Center
Ohio
Chillicothe VA Medical Center
Cincinnati VA Medical Center
Dayton VA Medical Center
Columbus VA Ambulatory Care Center
Oklahoma
Eastern Oklahoma (Muskogee) VA Health Care System
Oregon
Roseburg VA Health Care System
Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center & Clinics (White City)
Pennsylvania
Altoona VA Medical Center
Butler VA Medical Center
Coatesville VA Medical Center
Erie VA Medical Center
Lebanon VA Medical Center
Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center
Puerto Rico
Mayaguez VA Outpatient Clinic
Euripides Rubio (Ponce) VA Outpatient Clinic
Rhode Island
Providence VA Medical Center
South Carolina
Charleston VA Medical Center
Columbia VA Medical Center
South Dakota
Sioux Falls VA Medical Center
Black Hills (Fort Meade) VA Health Care System
Tennessee
Tennessee Valley (Murfreesboro) VA Health Care System
Mountain Home VA Health Care System
Texas
Amarillo (West Amarillo) VA Health Care System
West Texas (Big Spring) VA Health Care System
Central Texas (Temple) VA Health Care System
Texas Valley Coastal (Harlingen) VA Health Care System
El Paso VA Health Care System
Utah
Salt Lake City VA Health Care System
Vermont
White River Junction VA Medical Center
Virginia
Hampton VA Medical Center
Salem VA Medical Center
Washington
Spokane VA Medical Center
Walla Walla VA Medical Center
West Virginia
Beckley VA Medical Center
Clarksburg VA Medical Center
Huntington VA Medical Center
Martinsburg VA Medical Center
Wisconsin
Madison VA Hospital
Tomah VA Medical Center
Wyoming
Cheyenne VA Medical Center
Sheridan VA Medical Center
Sites were identified based on need for the vaccine according to CDC’s 1a prioritization after confirming they could appropriately store the vaccine at -20?C. Since the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine remains stable in regular refrigeration, VA expects to distribute it to more facilities when supplies are available.
The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine was 94 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 disease based on scientific data presented at FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biologics Advisory Committee on December 17. The vaccine is administered in two doses, 28 days apart. The side effects appear similar to those of other vaccines and are short-lived.
Thirty-seven medical centers began offering the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to eligible health care personnel and Veterans Dec 14. Additionally, VA is scheduled to receive another allocation of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this week. Fifteen VA facilities plan to start administering the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine after they receive their allocations. They are:
Palo Alto (Livermore) VA Medical Center
Palo Alto (Menlo Park) VA Medical Center
Bay Pines (FL) VA Health Care System
Miami (FL) VA Health Care System
West Palm Beach (FL) VA Health Care System
James A. Haley (Tampa, FL) Veterans Hospital
North Florida/South Georgia (Gainesville, FL) Health Care System
Lake Baldwin (Orlando, FL) VA Outpatient Clinic
Lake City (FL) VA Medical Center
Perry Point (MD) VA Medical Center
St. Louis (Jefferson Barracks, MO) VA Health Care System
New York Harbor (Brooklyn Campus) Health Care System
Salisbury (NC) VA Medical Center
Kerrville (TX) VA Hospital
American Lake (Tacoma, WA) VA Medical Center
As vaccines become available, VA care teams will reach out to eligible Veterans to schedule vaccinations. There is no need to preregister or come to a facility to sign up.
Veterans can get up-to-date information and sign up to receive regular updates on VA’s COVID-19 vaccine webpage.
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Reporters and media outlets with questions or comments should contact the Office of Media Relations at vapublicaffairs@va.gov
Veterans with questions about their health care and benefits (including GI Bill). Questions, updates and documents can be submitted online.
Veterans can also use our chatbot to get information about VA benefits and services. The chatbot won’t connect you with a person, but it can show you where to go on VA.gov to find answers to some common questions.
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