VA St. Louis Health Care System to begin vaccinating Veterans and front-line worker - VA St. Louis Health Care System
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VA St. Louis Health Care System

 

VA St. Louis Health Care System to begin vaccinating Veterans and front-line worker

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 16, 2020

VA releases vaccine distribution plan, VA St. Louis Health Care System to begin vaccinating Veterans and front-line workers this week

St. Louis, MO — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs yesterday announced publication of its dynamic VA Vaccination Distribution Plan. VA St. Louis Health Care System received a total of 2925 vaccine doses and started vaccinating Veterans and frontline health care employees today, December 16, 2020.

This follows the Food and Drug Administration’s Dec. 11 decision to issue an Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.

VA St. Louis Health Care System is one of the first 37 VA sites across the country selected to provide the vaccines for its ability to vaccinate large numbers of people and store the vaccines at extremely cold temperatures.

“After many months of tireless efforts, we are thrilled the vaccine is here and honored to be one of the first VA sites to administer it,” said Keith Repko, Medical Center Director,
“We are following the VA COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan to ensure a safe, evidence-based and equity-focused vaccine rollout for VA frontline workers and Veterans”  

“VA employees have provided life-saving COVID-19 care to thousands upon thousands of people, and this plan demonstrates how the department continues to play a crucial role in the nation’s response to the pandemic,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie.

The plan released yesterday addresses vaccinations for Veterans, staff, and other federal partners, and includes a risk stratification framework for identifying the population(s) at highest risk to receive the vaccine. The plan will be updated over the next two weeks to reflect final recommendations and specifications from FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on COVID-19 vaccines authorized through FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization process.

The plan covers vaccine distribution in the United States, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories where VA provides health care to Veterans, as well as vaccine safety monitoring and vaccine reporting as required by the CDC and Operation Warp Speed. 

Veterans seeking additional information should visit the VA Coronavirus Vaccine FAQs webpage, contact their care team, or visit their facility website. For interviews, please contact Marcena Gunter, Public Affairs Officer in VA St. Louis Health Care System.

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