VAs can now give COVID-19 vaccines to all veterans, their spouses and caregivers

Phil Pinarski/WIAT, Nexstar Media Wire

Updated: Mar 25, 2021 / 04:20 PM CDT

FILE – In this March 8, 2021 file photo, a syringe with the AstraZeneca vaccine is picutred at a new vaccination centre at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany. AstraZeneca’s release of encouraging data about its coronavirus vaccine from its U.S. trial raised hopes that the drug company could bury doubts about the shot and put a troubled rollout behind it. But just hours later, U.S. officials released an unusual statement expressing concerns AstraZeneca had included “outdated information” from its study and that it may have provided “an incomplete view of the efficacy data.” (Tobias Schwarz/Pool Photo via AP, File)

WASHINGTON (WIAT) — President Joe Biden signed the SAVE LIVES Act into law Thursday, allowing all Veteran’s Affairs (VA) centers across the country to provide COVID-19 vaccines.

All veterans, their spouses, caregivers and some other groups will soon be eligible to receive their doses from the VA.

“The SAVE LIVES Act increases the number of individuals who are eligible to get lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines from VA from 9.5 million to more than 33 million,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement. “Meeting the task of vaccinating this expanded population will be a tremendous undertaking for the VA and will require a significant increase in our allocation of vaccine supply, but I am confident that VA’s workforce is up to the task.”

VAs across the county have been administering shots to eligible veterans and their employees since the vaccine became available. As of March 24, over 1.5 million individuals have been fully vaccinated.

Pilot tests of COVID-19 vaccination sites will be conducted at select VAs throughout March and April.

It is estimated that the VA will need to receive around 600,000 doses each week to fully vaccinate more than 9.5 million individuals. As of now, the VA only receives 200,000 doses each week.

If you are a veteran looking for more information about getting a COVID-19 vaccine click here.